On May 26 I commented the pardoning of Roman Protasevich in Belarus:
Closing The Case Of Regime Changer Roman Protasevich And His Ryanair Flight To Minsk
Moon of Alabama has followed the case throughout. Those interested in the details of the original incident can find them in our June 2 2021 post. For a wider political view of the 'color revolution' business in east Europe see this piece by Kit Klarenberg. Links to all MoA posts about the case are listed at the end of this piece.
A week after the incident, during a long TV interview, Protasevich spilled the beans about the whole regime operation. He also says that he has come to believe that one of his regime changer colleagues had sent the bomb threat email to get him arrested.
A few weeks later Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega were released and put under house arrest. A trial followed and, in early May of this year, he was sentenced to eight years in prison.
I though that the sentence, in light of his public turnabout, was quite harsh but others accused of the same regime change operations against Belarus had received up to 20 years prison time. Still, eight years is a long time for a young man who had clearly changed his mind. Sofia Sapega, who is a Russian citizen, had earlier received a 6 year sentence.
On May 22 Protasevich was unexpectedly pardoned:
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All was fine with Protasevich but the fate of his (former?) partner, Sofia Sapega, was still up in air. I expressed hope that she would soon be released too:
Reporting on Protasevich's pardon the Washington Post notes:
Sapega, a Russian national, was accused of running another Telegram channel called “Belarus’s Black Book,” which published personal information about the country’s security forces. She was sentenced in 2022 to six years in prison. Last month, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Belarus granted its Russian counterparts’ request to transfer Sapega to Russia following her family’s pleas.
I have found no other new information about Sapega but, if she is still with Protasevich, it is likely that she will now receive similar leniency.
Today the New York Times reports that my hope has been fulfilled:
The Belarusian president has pardoned a Russian woman who was arrested along with her boyfriend, an exiled blogger and antigovernment activist, after the dramatic forced landing of a flight in Minsk.
The president, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, on Wednesday released the woman, Sofia Sapega, 25, only two weeks after he pardoned the blogger, Roman Protasevich.
On May 31 the Ukrainian news outlet Strana, prohibited from publishing in Ukraine as well as in Russia, defended Protasevich from smears by the foreign directed, expatriate opposition (machine translation):
The former editor-in-chief of Nexta, Roman Protasevich, did not trample on the white-red-white flag of the Belarusian opposition, which was spread on Belarusian TV in front of the entrance to the studio.
The flag was placed at the threshold instead of a doormat. Protasevich came to the studio together with the famous Belarusian TV presenter Grigory Azarenok.
Azarenok entered the room in front of the former oppositionist and walked on the white-red-white flag, while Protasevich stepped over the symbol of the Belarusian opposition several times.
Congratulations to Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega and a respectful bow to President Lukashenko for the sensible handling of their cases.
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Previous coverage of the case published on Moon of Alabama:
- Lukashenko's Revenge (Served Cold) – May 24, 2021
- Roman Protasevich – Arrested In Belarus – Is A Western Government Financed Neo-Nazi – May 26, 2021
- By The Book – What Really Happened With The Ryanair Flight In Belarus – May 27, 2021
- Ryanair Incident – Email Warning Received Before Plane Entered Belorussian Airspace – May 28, 2021
- How ProtonMail Lost The Public Trust It Needs To Do Business – May 29, 2021
- 'Like An Amoral Infant' – How ProtonMail Contributes To False Media Claims About Belarus – May 30, 2021
- Ryanair Bomb Threat In Belarus – 'Western' Media Narrative Disagrees With The Facts – May 31, 2021
- Timeline, Narrative Control And Consequences Of The Ryanair Incident In Belarus – June 2, 2021
- Roman Protasevich, Casualty Of The Ryanair Incident In Belarus, Is Spilling The Beans – June 4, 2021
- Putin Teaching A Journalist And Other New Bits Around Ryanair Flight 4978 – June 15, 2021
- U.S., UK Information Warfare Behind Regime Change Drive In Belarus by Kit Klarenberg – June 15, 2021
- ICAO Report – Ryanair Plane That Landed in Minsk Was NOT Forced Down – January 22, 2022
- Closing The Case Of Regime Changer Roman Protasevich And His Ryanair Flight To Minsk – May 26, 2023