In Belarus, the opponent Roman Protassevich placed under house arrest

Published on : 06/25/2021 – 10:14 AM

Belarus has transferred political opponent Roman Protassevich, arrested in May after a Ryanair plane crash landing in Minsk, from a detention center to house arrest, reported on Friday (June 25th). the russian BBC antenna.

His father, Dmitry Protassevich, told the BBC that his son was now in a rented apartment in Minsk, but the authorities were still not providing any information to his family.

His girlfriend, Russian citizen Sofia Sapega, was also moved to a rented apartment, where she lives alone, her stepfather told the BBC.

The Belarusian interior ministry and a commission of inquiry could not be reached immediately to comment on the information.

The Russian Embassy in Minsk has confirmed that Sofia Sapega has been placed under house arrest, TASS news agency reported.

“Total control of the authorities”

The interception and forced landing of the Ryanair plane from Athens to Vilnius on May 23 sparked outrage from the international community. This week, Western countries, which had called the maneuver an act of piracy, imposed a series of new sanctions on Belarus.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who faced months of anti-government protests last year after his contested re-election in a vote his critics called rigged, said the interception was justified to prevent a rebellion in the country.

“It is difficult for me to comment on the actions of the authorities, what are their objectives,” said the father of Roman Protassevich, quoted by the BBC. “They (the opponent and his girlfriend) are still under the full control of the authorities, no one has dropped the charges.” The authorities “don’t tell us anything about Roman’s condition, about his status, it’s just a joke.”

With AFP