The companion of Belarusian activist Roman Protassevich was arrested with him on board the Ryanair plane forced by the authorities of this country to land in Minsk, announced Monday, May 24 the university where she is taking her courses.
Read also: Plane diverted to Belarus: Europe is preparing sanctions, Minsk denies any manipulation
Sofia Sapéga is a law student at the European University of Human Sciences (EHU) founded in Minsk in 1992, but forced by the Belarusian authorities to transfer her activities to neighboring Lithuania since 2004.
In a statement, the EHU called for the immediate release of Sofia Sapéga, claiming that she had been arrested Sunday, May 23 in Minsk, on "
baseless and invented
"
grounds
, while she had taken the plane to defend their master's thesis.
Following an operation "
carried out by the Belarusian authorities, the student was arrested
", according to the EHU which called for "
immediate consular assistance
".
Sofia Sapéga is a Russian citizen, the statement said.
Vytaute Smaizyte, spokesperson for Lithuanian Foreign Minister Vytautas Landsbergis, confirmed to AFP that Roman Protassevich's companion had been arrested.
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