Blogger Lapshin Banned from Entering Armenia. Belarusian Authorities Might Have Been the Reason
Nashaniva.com
The incident occurred on April 5 at Yerevan airport. As before, blogger Alexander Lapshin was detained at passport control, but this time he was informed that entry to the country was completely closed for him and he had to leave. However, he was not provided with any official documents explaining the reasons, writes “Radio Svaboda”.
Alexander Lapshin. Photo: Facebook
Prior to this, Lapshin tried to obtain an electronic visa using his Israeli passport, but for the first time received a refusal. Therefore, he decided to fly without it and apply for a visa upon arrival, but he was denied there too. He still has friends in Armenia, as well as an apartment and personal belongings, as he had lived there for several years before.
Officially, the blogger was told the ban was due to his publication of an interview with a former Armenian prisoner of war who spoke about torture in Azerbaijani captivity. According to the Armenian side, such materials could harm relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The blogger himself considers this explanation illogical.
Unofficially, however, he was told that the problem might be that he had been repeatedly detained in Armenia at the request of Belarus, and this simply annoyed local services. In total, there were seven such detentions.
Lapshin’s problems with Belarusian authorities began in 2016 when he was detained in Belarus and extradited to Azerbaijan due to a criminal case for visiting Nagorno-Karabakh. There, the blogger was convicted, but later pardoned. After this, he filed a complaint with the UN, which recognized that his rights had been violated.
In subsequent years, Belarus continued to accuse Lapshin, and in 2024 he was for the first time detained in Armenia at the request of Belarus, but not extradited. Later, such detentions recurred. Lapshin even appealed to an Armenian court, which recognized that Belarus’s accusations did not comply with local laws, but this did not stop the detentions.
Now, after a complete entry ban, the blogger says he has almost no legal means left to change anything. He has sent a request to the Armenian authorities to receive an official explanation, but there has been no response yet.
