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Belarus: former dissident journalist Protassevich sentenced to eight years in prison

2023-05-03T10:51:49.030Z


The political opponent had distinguished himself after the interception of an airliner in 2021. The verdict was announced on Wednesday by state media.


A Belarusian court on Wednesday sentenced Roman Protassevich, a dissident ex-journalist arrested in Belarus in 2021 to eight years in prison after the spectacular interception of an airliner, sparking outcry and Western sanctions against Minsk.

According to the public press agency Belta, Stepan Poutilo and Ian Roudik, two other defendants in exile abroad, were sentenced respectively in this case, in absentia, to 20 and 19 years in prison.

They were targeted by a series of charges, including public calls to "

seize power

", commit "

terrorist acts

" and insult the head of state.

The three young men, in this case emblematic of the repression in Belarus, are the founders or have worked for the opposition media Nexta, which played a key role in the protest movement of 2020.

Media classified as terrorist organization

Roman Protassevich was arrested on May 23, 2021 with his partner Sofia Sapega when their Ryanair flight, linking Athens to Vilnius, was intercepted by a Belarusian fighter jet, sparking outcry and Western sanctions.

The prosecution had requested 20 years of prison camp for Stepan Poutilo, 19 years for Ian Roudik and 10 years for Roman Protassevitch.

Nexta played a key role in mobilizing the historic protest movement against the re-election in August 2020 of President Alexander Lukashenko, in particular by massively publishing calls for demonstrations and by publishing images of the mobilization and police repressions.

This earned this media to be banned and classified as a "

terrorist organization

" by the Belarusian justice.

Ongoing negotiations

After his arrest, Roman Protassevich had agreed to cooperate with the investigation and claimed to repent, in videos broadcast by Belarusian public television, recorded “

under duress

” according to the Belarusian opposition.

On Wednesday, he appeared at the hearing in Minsk, sitting alone in the dock, dark circles under his eyes, according to images released by the Belta agency.

Protassevich has respected the terms of the cooperation agreement concluded with him.

Therefore, the accused will receive less than he could

,” prosecutor Natalia Sokolova told Belarusian television in late April.

He has been under house arrest since June 2021 while Sofia Sapega, a Russian citizen, was sentenced to six years in prison.

Negotiations are underway between Minsk and Moscow for her to be transferred to Russia to serve her sentence.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-05-03

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