Belarus Parades Opposition Journalist At News Conference
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Several journalists and diplomats left a news conference in Belarus after authorities unexpectedly paraded the detained opposition journalist Roman Protasevich at the briefing. With Protasevich appearing under duress, the uniformed officials gave their version of the Ryanair passenger plane diversion of May 23.
An alleged bomb threat forced the aircraft to land in Minsk, the capital, where passengers Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega were arrested.
Belarus denies it was a forced landing, despite several independent investigations showing it was.
Protasevich, held at a KGB secret service detention facility in Minsk, said he felt “fine” and had not been beaten. He also claimed he had caused damage to Belarus and now wanted to rectify the situation.
Before his arrest, he was heard saying he feared a possible death penalty as he has been put on a Belarus terrorism list. And he could at least receive a lengthy prison sentence if found guilty of “inciting” unrest.
At the briefing on Monday, the head of state investigations, Dmitry Gora, said Sapega – who is Russian – had been charged with inciting social discord and enmity. She is also in the KGB jail in Minsk.
The diversion of the Athens-Vilnius flight outraged the European Union, Britain, the United States, and other Western nations.
They reacted by banning state carrier Belavia from their airports and urging airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace.
Flatly contradicting independent accounts of what happened, Belarus air force chief Igor Golub told the briefing: “There was no interception, no forced diversion from the state border or forced landing of the Ryanair plane.”
Soon after, Jonah Fisher, a correspondent of Britain’s BBC network in Minsk, left the press briefing. “With Mr. Protasevich having been brought from detention to the briefing and almost certainly have no say in the matter, we decided to leave. Shortly afterward, several of the foreign diplomats also followed suit,” he said.
Earlier, Protasevich was put several times in front of television cameras to confess to his supposed crimes and deny that he’s been mistreated.
Authoritarian Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, has cracked down hard on opponents since claiming victory in August. The election was widely condemned as rigged.
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