February 9, 2017 - 12:47 AMT
Baku thanks Minsk for extradition of blogger who visited Karabakh

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a phone call on Wednesday, February 8 thanked Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for extraditing Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin.

Aliyev described the step as "compliance with the rule of law and international conventions," as well as "a manifestation of friendly and strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Belarus."

Lapshin, 40, a dual Israeli-Russian citizen, divides his time between Israel and a few other places. He was arrested on December 15 in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, at the request of Azeri authorities who demanded his extradition. The arrest was made one day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

Lapshin was arrested following his visits to Nagorno Karabakh as well as due to critical posts in his Russian-language blog against Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.