The wife of the blogger Alexander Lapshin requires the Azerbaijani authorities to allow Lapshin to meet with the International Committee of the Red Cross. She told about the conversation with her husband’s attorney on the Facebook and shared her opinion about the investigation.
"Are there any news about Sasha?”
“Yet nothing. There continues ‘the Belarusian version’ of the investigation against him. "
“Everyone read the news. On February 7, he was extradited to Azerbaijan and handed to the intelligence services. On February 8, as the Azerbaijani Prosecutor’s Office announced, Lapshin was provided with legal assistance and protection. The prosecutor’s office introduced Lapshin charges made against him and explained their nature in the presence of the attorney and interpreter.
The problem is that there passed at least 10 hours from the moment of his extradition and provision of legal assistance. Why they didn’t provide Lapshin with an attorney and a translator immediately at the airport or in Azerbaijan’s state security detention center, where, as media reports, he was taken to after his arrival.
I talked Sasha’s attorney several times, but he could not answer to the question why Alexander is still not allowed to see the Red Cross personnel. Everyone saw Sasha's "arrival" video, and told, that he looked strange. As the international media reports, "the blogger is in a severe mental condition and did not respond to any questions or comments."
On the contrary, Safar Huseynov has only one answer. That is, Lapshin has no complaints. If everything goes well, what's the problem? The Red Cross, as an independent organization, can confirm it and all doubts will be scattered. I am afraid, that not everything is good, and they would not like us to know about it.
The issue concerns the lawyer as well. He insists, that none of the family members applied to him. I called him, talk to him on February 13 and 14 and of course today. What else can Huseynov tell? According to him, Alexander is doing well. Listing to him, I have an impression, that my husband is in Puerto resort.
‘He is happy and pleased with everything,’ told me Huseynov on the phone. He is probably happy with the detention condition and with his lawyer who speaks Russian poorly. Even every-day issues push him into a deadlock. Not to mention, how Huseynov can explain Sasha the legal aspects of the case.
Sasha confirmed, that he visited Karabakh and wrote those articles. He partially pleaded guilty to the charge. They operate in a group. ‘Lapshine testified about the people, who helped him to visit Karabakh,’ said the attorney.
Sasha confirmed his illegal visit to Nagorno-Karabakh. He himself partially pleaded guilty. He is charged with crimes committed by a group of people. There was a group of people. He gave their names and said that they had organized his trip, but he did not know their names. "
Don’t you see, what he says is strange. Someone organized something, but no one knows anyone’s name. Instead, his confession is consistent with the charge of the General Prosecutor's Office of Belarus, which became the cause for his extradition.
‘... making prior agreements with unknown persons and creating an organized criminal group, in April of 2011 and in October of 2012 he illegally crossed the border of Azerbaijan Republic without the necessary documents and ignoring the checkpoints.’
It is noteworthy, the ruling of the Belarus Internal Affairs about the arrest as a preventive measure, does not involve June 7, 2016 decision of Narimanov District Court of Baku which qualifies Lapshin as a creator of a criminal group.
In other words, the attorney’s task is to make Alexander confess what he has not done. However, Alexander will have a new attorney in the next two days. According to Huseynov, we can hire an attorney using our own means. Therefore, we can have a more objective attorney.”
