Armenia Must Utilize My Precedent for the Release of Armenian Prisoners in Baku: Lapshin

The Armenian authorities must definitely use the precedent set by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of blogger Alexander Lapshin against the Republic of Azerbaijan to achieve the release of Armenian war prisoners currently held in a Baku prison. This opinion was expressed by the blogger himself in a conversation with Armenpress.

Lapshin informed that the Grand Chamber of the ECHR rejected Azerbaijan's appeal regarding his case, thereby upholding the ECHR's ruling from May 20, 2021, which found Azerbaijan guilty of Lapshin's unlawful detention, torture in a Baku prison, and an assassination attempt against him by the Azerbaijani government.

The blogger emphasized the political significance of his victory against Azerbaijan in the Strasbourg court. “I certainly did not have the slightest doubt that Azerbaijan would lose even upon appeal. But the most important thing in this case is that, in my opinion, the Armenian authorities must definitely utilize my precedent, my victory in the European court for the release of Armenian war prisoners currently held in a Baku prison,” Lapshin stated, adding that he is fully satisfied with the European court's decision.

Regarding the amount of compensation, Lapshin mentioned that it is very symbolic. Although the blogger is unsure if the Azerbaijani government will pay this compensation. According to the ECHR's decision from May 20, Azerbaijan is obligated to pay Lapshin 30,000 euros in compensation. “The amount is, of course, symbolic. Moreover, I have serious doubts that Azerbaijan will pay this amount. Years will pass before we force them to pay through the freezing of their assets in Europe and our complaints presented to the Council of Europe. But the issue is not the money; the issue is the precedent set by the decision, which needs to be utilized for the benefit of Armenia,” Lapshin noted.