YEREVAN (A.W.)—In a recent interview with an Azerbaijani television station, Turan TV, Israeli blogger and traveler Alexander Lapshin talked about his experience in prison. In particular, he discussed how he was treated by doctors.

As reported by Sputnik Armenia, Lapshin described the overall experience as quite tolerable, largely because he did not come down with any serious illnesses, but recounted an experience with a dentist who refused anesthesia to Lapshin.

“I had a problem with my teeth, probably a result of bad food. My teeth started to crack and break. They took me to a doctor,” he said. The dentist, laughing, apparently explained that “Armenian spies don’t get any anesthesia.”

“It was very painful and unpleasant; moreover, I’m not an Armenian spy, and I considered it unnecessary to joke in that manner,” added Lapshin.

He added that although he was not tortured, other prisoners would threaten and ridicule him, calling him an “Armenian prostitute.”

Answering a question about why had he decided to visit Artsakh in the first place, the blogger said: “I find all places interesting, including Artsakh, Abkhazia, Rwanda. I served at the border of Israel and Syria, in military bunkers, wearing a helmet and with a rifle in my hands. The topic of military has always been interesting to me.”

Below is the original interview.

(Video: Turan TV)

Lapshin, who was detained by Belarusian authorities at the request of the Azerbaijani Government at the end of Dec. 2016, was extradited to Azerbaijan to serve three years in prison on a charge related to his 2011 and 2012 visits to Artsakh. International protest emerged following his arrest, and last September he was pardoned by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.