“Alexander Lapshin’s detention and extradition cannot have any impact on the work of journalists and human rights defenders in Artsakh. This work has been and will be viewed as lawful, this is the principle,” Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan said in a statement.

“The fact of Alexander Lapshin’s extradition is an obvious infringement of human rights. The escorting by masked representatives of special forces upon Lapshin’s arrival in Baku and the wide coverage in the press come to prove the obvious forbidden attitude toward him,” the Ombudsman said.

He said “the promotion of visits by foreign journalists and human rights defenders to Artsakh, contributing to the participation of Artsakh’s democratic institutions in international meetings should be among the basic directions of the activity of any of us. There is no alternative to the work in this work.”