Journalist-blogger Roman Protasevich’s girlfriend was also detained along with him when their flight was forced to land in Minsk, Belarus. Here’s what we know about their arrest.
Roman Protasevich is a former editor at the Telegram channel, NEXTA, and NEXTA Live.
Further, Roman fled from Belarus to Poland in 2020 and had been living in isolation since.
Later, he worked with NEXTA during the 2020 presidential election of Belarus against their President Alexander Lukashenko.
He was thus considered a terrorist and faces a punishment of up to 15 years in jail.
Sofia Sapega, Raman Pratasevich’s girlfriend and a ?? citizen, was detained yesterday in Minsk too. We must demand the immediate release of Raman and Sofia. It is also important to launch an international investigation and end the impunity of Lukashenka’s regime. pic.twitter.com/NNMfxQbwrq
— Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (@Tsihanouskaya) May 24, 2021
Roman Protasevich Girlfriend: Who Is Sofia Sapega?
Roman Protasevich was traveling with his girlfriend Sofia Sapega from Athens to Vilnius when their flight was forced to make an emergency landing.
Sofia Sapega is a Russian citizen. She is a law student at the European Humanities University.
She was traveling to Vilnius to defend her master’s thesis to graduate from her five-year course. Her arrest was confirmed by the university.
Roman Protasevich Age And Wiki
Roman Protasevich’s age is 26 years old.
However, as there is not enough info regarding his birth, his birthday could not be found.
Further, Roman is a blogger and journalist. He used to work at the Telegram channel, NEXTA as an editor.
Other information, including his family and parents, is not available in the media currently.
Journalist Raman “Pratasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, were immediately separated upon arrival in #Minsk and taken away by police … Their whereabouts remain unclear”@RFERL #FreeRamanPratasevich #FreeSofiaSapegahttps://t.co/3tlbRgcIEc
— Lotte Leicht (@LotteLeicht1) May 24, 2021
Why Was Roman Protasevich Arrested?
Roman Protasevich worked with NEXTA to cover the 2020 presidential election of Belarus.
NEXTA is a social media platform that works against the Belarus Prime Minister. It shares information and organizes protests against the government.
Therefore, Roman was charged with terrorism and faces a sentence of at least fifteen years in prison or a death penalty in Belarus.
As per reports, Roman was traveling to Vilnius from Athens for some work with his girlfriend.
However, the Ryanair jet was nearer to Vilnius than Minsk at the time of their sudden landing.
They were told that there was a security threat onboard and they needed to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport which was at Minsk.
Upon their landing, Roman and his girlfriend were arrested by the authorities. Such an act by Belarus authorities has incited protests from other European countries.
They have termed it as an act of state terrorism and demanded Roman and Sofia’s instant release.