Israel to attempt transferring jailed blogger Lapshin if sentenced in Baku

Israel will attempt to achieve that Alexander Lapshin serves his sentence in his country, Minval news agency reported.

“We have made efforts and will continue doing so to help Lapshin, who is both a Russian and an Israeli citizen. If Lapshin is sentenced in Azerbaijan, we will try to achieve that he serves his sentence in Israel,” Israel’s minister of justice Ayelet Shaked said during a visit to Moscow.

Alexander Lapshin, a blogger who holds Russian, Israeli and Ukrainian citizenship, was detained in Belarus after Azerbaijan issued an arrest warrant for him.

Lapshin was extradited to Baku on February 7, which sparked an outrage among human rights activists, journalists, civil and political gures worldwide. Lapshin was wanted by Baku because he had visited Artsakh and criticized Azerbaijan in his blog.