CTK
Updated 1 minute ago
The former editor-in-chief of Belarusian opposition media Nexta, Raman Pratasevich, who was sentenced to eight years in prison this month, has been pardoned, the state-run Belta news agency reported. The Belarusian security forces detained the now 27-year-old Pratasevich in May last year, together with his then-partner, after they forced a Ryanair civil plane from Athens to Vilnius to land in Minsk.
“Literally just now I signed all the relevant documents that I was pardoned. This is just wonderful news,” journalist Pratasevich, who was sentenced to eight years in prison this month, told reporters on Monday.
After his arrest, Pratasevich entered into an agreement with the authorities and cooperated. On May 3, the court convicted him along with two other defendants, tried in absentia, for, among other things, public calls to seize state power, terrorist acts, defaming the head of state, spreading knowingly false information about Belarus, and other crimes. The judgment became final on May 18 because Pratasevič did not appeal, the Naša Niva server recalled.
The plane incident and the detention of the pair were condemned by a number of countries, including the United States and the European Union, which then expanded sanctions against the Belarusian regime. Russia Sapega was sentenced to six years in prison in Belarus last year. The Moscow court is to consider her extradition to the homeland on Wednesday.
The Nexta news channel under Pratasevich’s leadership reported in detail about the large-scale post-election protests against the regime of long-time authoritarian Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko after the presidential election in August 2020. At that time, the authorities again declared Lukashenko the winner of the election, but the opposition and Western countries consider the election to be rigged. The regime, which harshly suppressed the protests, called Next a “terrorist organization”.
Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Cichanouská, who lives in exile, called the journalist’s conviction another “disrespect for justice” and the whole process as fabricated. “Pratasevich has been a hostage of the regime since the hijacking of the Ryanair plane,” she added.
After his arrest, Pratasevich said in an interview on state television that he respects Lukashenko, recognizes his guilt and does not want to be involved in politics anymore. According to independent media, this interview was created under duress. After his arrest, Pratasevič’s family said he was coerced into making false confessions. His public criticism of the Belarusian opposition has fueled speculation that he has come under intense pressure from the authorities, the BBC wrote on its website.
Most of the Belarusian opposition activists fled the country due to the repression of the regime, others ended up in prison. The Belarusian court also sentenced Cichanouska in absentia, who in March sentenced her to 15 years in prison for, among other things, conspiracy to unconstitutionally seize power. According to the NGO Vyasna, there are currently almost 1,500 political prisoners in Belarus. Among them is Cichanouská’s husband, who was already sentenced to 18 years behind bars in 2021.
