Baku court gives 3 years to Russian-Israeli blogger over Karabakh visitJuly 20, 2017 - 12:41 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A court in Baku on Thursday, July 20 sentenced Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin to three years in prison. On Wednesday, the court heard the defense side. Lawyer Eduard Chernin said he considered the charges brought against the blogger "unfounded and illegal" and asked for an acquittal. In his closing argument, Lapshin once again rejected the charges against him. "I categorically reject the accusations against me and plead not guilty," he said. Lapshin divides his time between Israel and a few other places. He was detained on December 15 in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, at the request of Azeri authorities who demanded his extradition. He 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. Once extradited to Azerbaijan, Lapshin was immediately taken into custody. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |