‘They’re going to kill him’: Detained Belarusian journalist’s mother pleads to world leaders to save her son

FILE PHOTO: Belarusian blogger Roman Protasevich, detained when a Ryanair plane was forced to land in Minsk, appears in video
Roman Protasevich seen in a pre-trial detention facility
Via Reuters

The mother of the captured dissident journalist Roman Protasevich has appealed to world leaders to save her son as international concern about his fate in a Belarusjail continued to mount.

Natalia Protasevich, the blogger’s mother, said she feared “they’re going to kill him in there” following her son’s detention on Sunday after his Ryanair flight was forced to land in Minsk over a supposed bomb threat widely regarded as invented.

He appeared in a video on Monday night with a suspected broken nose and bruising to his face apparently confessing to organising mass protests against Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko.

The EU and Britain have already responded by barring flights and threatening new sanctions, while US President Joe Biden has also promised further action against President Lukashenko.

Sofia Sapega appeared in a video released by a pro-Lukashenko channel on Telegram
Telegram

“I’m asking, I’m begging, I’m calling on the whole international community to save him,” she said.

“He’s only one journalist, he’s only one child but please, please ... I am begging for help. Please save him. They’re going to kill him in there.”

Her husband, Dmitry Protasevich, added: “The lawyer tried to see him today but she was turned down, she could not see him. We still don’t know if he is in there, what his condition is, how he is feeling.

“One of the ways our authorities torture is by not telling relatives where their loved ones are being held until the last minute.”

POLAND-BELARUS-POLITICS-ARREST-PARENTS
Natalia Protasevich poses for a photo after an interview with AFP in Wroclaw, Poland
AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, Ms Sapega’s mother Anna Dudich said she believed her daughter, who is being held in a KGB pre-trial detention centre in Minsk, was also speaking under duress in a video of her released today by the Belarus authorities.

“Even my friends called me and said ... this is an unusual manner for her. She sways, eyes in the sky - as if afraid of forgetting something,” she said.

“My hopes are now probably based on a miracle and on the knowledge that my daughter is definitely not guilty of anything. She simply showed up in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

In the video, Ms Sapega admits to editing a Telegram channel about Belarusian police officers and other security agents.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko
AP

Her lawyer Alexander Filanovich told the BBC that she has been interrogated and accused of a criminal offence and due to be held for at least the next two months under a “preventive measure” imposed by the Belarus authorities.

Mr Protasevich, 26, and Ms Sapega, 23, were detained when their flight from Greece to Lithunia, where the journalist was based, was diverted to Minsk in an apparently deliberate attempt to seize him which has been condemned as an act of international piracy.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in