The extraordinary “conversion” of journalist bielo …

History of a compression

Protosevich sits almost in the dark in front of the local TV reporter Have. Just a few lights direct them to either side. Every now and then the image takes them from afar, showing an almost uninhabited studio. In fact, no one uses cameras that look flat. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they called me ‘traitor’ after that», Says the 26-year-old. And she continues. “I openly admit that I was one of those who published calls for release on August 9, 2020,” he denounces. “As soon as the documents were presented to me, the prosecution immediately admitted my guilt under article 342 of the penal code, organization of unauthorized mass actions,” he adds. He also admitted that his publications on social networks and on Nexta Telegram, of which he is the director, caused “uncontrolled riots”.

Regarding the president who had once described as a “dictator” and “Nazi”, he now maintained: “Many of the things that we criticize Lukashenko for are really just attempts at pressure. In many situations he acted, and excuse the expression, like a man with steel balls.“Already through tears he said, ‘I don’t want to get into politics anymore. (…) I wish I could put things back in order, live a normal life. Then, he put his hands on her face to cover her face. However, this was not the first video in which Protasevich was seen after his arrest. On May 24, hours after he was captured at Minsk airport, the first of them appeared. There, in just thirty seconds, he revealed their crimes. “I am in the number one detention center in Minsk. (…) The officers treat me well and according to the law. now I cooperate and admit that I organized the massive protests in Minsk», Declared the journalist.

Hand bird

The maneuver with which the Belarusian government arrested him is worthy of a movie. The reporter was with his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, on an Irish airline Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania. But he had the misfortune to enter Belarusian airspace. Once there, the government of that country issued an alert. Local authorities claimed to have received a bomb threat from the Palestinian organization Hamas, for which the plane was to land. And to make sure that happens, they sent a fighter jet to intercept the flight. As soon as Protasevich set foot in Minsk, he and his girlfriend were arrested.

The journalist was a staunch opponent of the Lukashenko government. Together with his colleague Stepan Putilo, they ran Nexta on the Telegram platform, where they had two million subscribers. Nexta took on particular importance after the 2020 elections. There, Lukashenko won his fifth re-election with nearly eighty percent of the vote. The elections were condemned by the main opposition leader Svetlana Tijanovskaya. There was talk of electoral fraud and citizens took to the streets in droves. The protests lasted for weeks. Tijanovskaya was arrested and when she regained her freedom she went into exile in Lithuania. Protasevich and his colleague were charged with “terrorists” and “provoking mass unrest”, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison, for which they also went into exile.

The arrest of the young journalist in full flight prompted the immediate condemnation of the main leaders of the European Union. The German Chancellor has called for his urgent release. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson he said he was alarmed by the video and also called for his release. The US Secretary of State, Antoine Blink, called his capture shocking and said Belarus had put the lives of more than 120 passengers, including North Americans, at risk. The NATO called for an investigation into “the serious and dangerous incident”.

For his part, the owner of the Irish low-cost airline, Michael O’Leary, claimed it was a state-sponsored kidnapping. In turn, the Belarusian government communicated that the bomb threat came from an email from the company Protonmail. However, from the Austrian-born server, they maintained that it was sent at a date after the flight was captured.

Russian friend

For the President of Belarus, Protasevich’s stay in foreign territory was not going to be an obstacle to stop him. Lukashenko has been in power in the country since 1994 as if it were a kingdom. In every election he has run for, he has exceeded 80 percent of the vote. In 1996, he called for a referendum to amend the Constitution and obtain his re-election for an indefinite period. He did so with 70.5% of the vote. He was charged with fraud and overcame several attempts by Congressional opposition to remove him from power. He also knows very well how to exploit the geostrategic position occupied by his country, located between Western Europe and Russia.

Lukashenko is counting on the support given to him by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last Monday, the two were kissing on a luxury yacht in Sochi. Regarding the arrest of the plane where Protosevich was, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zajárova only criticized European governments. “We are surprised that the West calls the incident in Belarusian airspace “surprising”Zajárova said on Facebook. He also stressed that this was an “internal matter” of this country. Meanwhile, the European Union continues to impose sanctions against Belarus. They do not appear to be bullying the president into doing what he wants, is another example.