The trial of Ukrainian-Russian-Israeli citizen and blogger Alexander Lapshin has
come to a conclusion.
Lapshin was condemned to three years imprisonment; the Prosecutor had originally asked for six years and six months.
In his last opportunity to speak before the verdict was handed down, Lapshin once again rejected the charges against him. He said that if anything, his guilt was only a ‘moral one’.
“I understand how important Karabakh is for Azerbaijan. In no way did I enter into a connection with the Armenian authorities”.
He expressed hope that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict would come to a conclusion that respects the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
Lapshin was detained in Minsk in December of 2016 on the request of Azerbaijan and later extradited on February 7 of 2017. He was accused of illegally crossing the state border of Azerbaijan, and of making public appeals against the state.
