The girlfriend of the journalist, who was arrested on board a plane in Belarus in May last year, has sought pardon from the country’s president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, after serving a six-year sentence for “inciting social hatred and sedition”.
24-year-old Sofia Sapega was caught by the Belarusian authorities with her then-boyfriend Roman Protasevich after the plane they were going to Lithuania was forced to land in Minsk. Protasevich was the editor of the opposition channel Nexta. Sofia, a Russian, was accused of being one of the group’s admins on Telegram.
In early May, after a six-week trial behind closed doors, young woman convicted and in danger of deportation to Russia.
Girlfriend of journalist arrested in Belarus says she committed a ‘crime’ for ‘stupidity’
In a letter to Lukashenk, he appealed to the authoritarian leader for his freedom. Protasevich remains in prison in an unknown location awaiting trial.
Sofia Sapega’s letter to Aleksandr Lukashenko was first reported by the BBC. According to information from the vehicle, the young woman decided to seek pardon from the Belarusian president a little over a month after she was found guilty of “dispute” charges.
According to the court, his conviction also came for posting personal data belonging to Belarusian security forces on Nexta’s Telegram channel. Previously, the authorities had accused him of organizing the riots.
As a result, he was sentenced to six years in prison. Sofia’s lawyer told the BBC he “apologised” for his actions.
Protasevich’s ex-girlfriend wrote to Lukashenko that she claimed she was motivated “to commit crimes” by her “youth and stupidity” and that she was under the influence of a “destructive group of people”.
The Russian woman urged the country’s president to be tolerant and to offer her the opportunity to “be useful to society and be close to her mother and father” living in the country.
“I just want to be close to my family. I understood what the true values of life are: freedom, family and home.”
Political Prisoner Sofia #Sapega wrote a request for forgiveness #Lukashenko.
“I just want to be close to my family. I understood what the real values in life are: freedom, family and home,” she wrote.
Sapega arrested along with Roman #Protasevic On May 23, 2021. pic.twitter.com/w5dDukuvk2
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) 27 June 2022
Sofia Sapega spent more than a year in a detention center run by the country’s security services, the KGB, before her trial.
The BBC reports that the activists following the case claimed that their previous statements were made under duress.
The young woman was born in the Russian city of Vladivostok, but close circles confirm that she has lived in Belarus all her life, so she wants to avoid extradition to her country of origin.
He also reportedly said he “aided the investigation” by involving others in unspecified crimes.
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The Moscow Times highlighted: at the beginning of June, The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Sofia’s statements could serve as a basis for tolerance.
The statement was made after Lukashenko raises the possibility of extradition to Russia to complete his sentence.
“It’s a shame on the girl. We need to fix this problem,” he said. “He’s a Russian. We can transfer a Russian citizen to Russia. Let him serve there.”
Sapega’s lawyer told the BBC that if Sapega was sent to Russia, she would also seek forgiveness from Vladimir Putin.
Recall the case of the journalist who got stuck on the plane with his girlfriend.
Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega on May 23, 2021 caught on the plane Plane taken from Greece to Lithuania, forced by Belarusian authorities to make a forced landing in Minsk, allegedly having a bomb on board.
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Belarusian authorities said that the journalist has been under house arrest since June 2021 pending trial in an undisclosed location. Organizations and activists point out that the status of the investigation against him is uncertain.
Before his arrest, he was among the “most wanted” in the country.
Last month, in addition to Sofia’s conviction, the Belarusian justice system also filed new charges against her. Two more journalists from Nexta.
The exiled Putilo and journalist Jan Rudik were accused of leading a “terrorist organization” and trying to “destabilize” the situation in the country, state news agency Belta reported. In 2020, Nexta was classified as a “terrorist organization”.
Nexta’s co-founder currently resides in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, according to information from the Al Jazeera network. He is currently facing other charges, including social hatred and incitement to treason, and is on international wanted lists in Belarus and Russia.
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source: Noticias
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