The Via Crucis of Román Protasévich, a journalist and opposition activist arrested in 2021 after the Minsk authorities diverted a passenger plane in an action that was internationally condemned, has lasted just two years in Belarus. On May 3, a court sentenced him to 8 years in prison, but this Monday he is a free man after receiving the pardon of Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled that former Soviet republic with an iron hand since 1994.
Apparently, the approval of the pardon was influenced by the fact that after his arrest, Protasevich began to actively cooperate with the investigation and the country’s authorities. His girlfriend, the Russian SofÃa Sapega, whose request for pardon was rejected, did not do so.
It was Protasévich himself who announced on May 22 the granting of pardon to journalists, reports the state news agency Belta.
“I have literally just signed all the relevant documents that I have been pardoned. Of course, this is great news,” the former blogger said. He also stated that he was “deeply grateful” to Belarus and personally to Lukashenko for this decision.
Román Protasévich, who is 28 years old, was sentenced to 8 years in prison on May 3 after the judges found him guilty of making public calls “to seize power”, committing “terrorist acts” and insulting the head of state .
Next to him, the founder of Nexta, Stepán Putilo, and the former director Yan Rudik, both in exile, were also sentenced. Convicted as Protasévich, the judges determined to sentence the first to 20 years in prison in absentia and the second to 19. Last year Belarus declared Nexta a “terrorist organization”.
Nexta was one of the best-known Telegram channels during the protest three years ago against the Belarusian regime. The medium played a relevant role in the protest movement that broke out in Belarus in 2020 after the presidential elections. It published calls to demonstrate, as well as images of the violent police repression with which Lukashenko tried to silence the opposition.
Belarus opened several criminal cases against Protasevich for articles published about the protests and accused him of inciting hatred. The KGB, which in Belarus maintains the Soviet name, included him on its list of people involved in acts of terrorism and the Government of Minsk asked Poland to extradite him.
In 2021 the blogger and his girlfriend, SofÃa Sapega, traveled on vacation from Lithuania, where they lived, to Greece.
To return, they took a Ryanair plane from Athens to Vilnius. When the plane was flying over Belarus on May 23, 2021, the pilots received a message from air traffic controllers indicating that there could be a bomb in the device. Accompanied by a Belarusian fighter, he landed at the Minsk airport.
After verifying that the supposed bomb did not exist, the plane took off for the capital of Lithuania, but without Protasévich and Sapega, who were removed from the plane and arrested.
The move by the Belarusian authorities to catch a critical voice was strongly condemned by the governments of European countries and the United States. In 2021, the EU banned all Belarusian airlines from using its airspace and recommended those from the mainland to avoid flying through Belarusian airspace.
Following his arrest, Protasevich was shown on state television and tearfully confessed to involvement in anti-government protests and a plot to oust Lukasehnko. In addition, he declared to have been used by the enemies of the Belarusian regime.
The journalist maintained that it was a “big mistake” to try to achieve “changes through a division in society” and justified his opposition to the Lukashenko regime on the grounds that it was very “young and stupid”.
The Belarusian opposition in exile claimed that these confessions were false and had been obtained through coercion and torture.
Protasevich accused employees of the headquarters of the Belarusian opposition leader, Svetlana Tijanóvskaya, of planting a bomb on the Ryanair plane and threatened to sue the airline.
In his testimony, Protasevich called his former colleagues “conspirators” and claimed that they were preparing a forcible seizure of power.
In June 2021, he denied to the RBK newspaper that he had negotiated with the investigators in the hope of avoiding punishment. “I have not negotiated, any participation of mine is voluntary… My conscience is completely clear. I am not betraying anyone, I am not turning anyone over. I am cooperating with the investigation, I am helping my country and I intend to help more.” he assured then.
Sofia Sapega, for her part, was sentenced to six years in prison in May 2022. She also filed a clemency petition addressed to Lukashenko, but the Minsk authorities rejected it.
Shortly after his sentence, Protasévich assured that months before they had separated.