Roman Protasevich: Who is the journalist arrested by Belarus? | Freedom of the Press News

Roman Protasevich was suddenly diverted on a plane from Greece to Lithuania on Sunday to Minsk, the Belarusian capital, where he was arrested.

He brought the news international condemnation Some European leaders called the move a “kidnapping” as the bloc on Monday discussed tougher sanctions against Belarus, in a debate against President Alexander Lukashenko’s crackdown on opposition protesters last year.

The Belarussian president was given a sixth term in elections held last August, opposition members say.

The country was shaken mass demonstrations against the government which led to the arrest of thousands of people, dozens of whom were jailed, according to human rights groups.

Who is Roman Protasevich?

The 26-year-old created and directed the Polish-based Nexta news service, which broadcast images of mass protests through the Telegram messenger app.

With about two million subscribers to Telegram, Nexta Live and its sister channel Nexta played a key role in directing and coordinating the protesters last year, when Internet access was blocked and independent media were severely restricted.

Protasevich, fearing arrest, fled to Poland in 2019.

He allegedly applied for asylum in January 2020.

He was later relocated to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, also led by political leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was hailed as the real winner of the elections discussed by the Belarusian opposition. looking for shelter.

In November 2020, Belarus launched a survey against Protasevich and Stsiapan Putsila, the founder of Nexta, on suspicion of violating social order and inciting social hatred.

The charges carry a prison sentence of more than 12 years.

Protasevich was accused of “terrorist” activities, and the Nexta Telegram channel and its logo were said to be “extremist” and the Belarusian authorities ordered a blockade.

Terrorist crimes can lead to the death penalty in Belarus, where it remains a legal penalty.

I OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZE THE TERRORIST

Yes, this is no joke. The KGB in Belarus put me on the terrorist list. Now my name is on the same list as the ISIS guys. pic.twitter.com/k74wdaT1lR

– Roman Protasevich (@pr0tez) November 19, 2020

Translation: I am officially recognized as a terrorist. Yes, this is no joke. The KGB in Belarus put me on the terrorist list. Now my name is on the same list as the ISIS guys.

He has been working for the Protasevich Telegram in Belamova since March this year.

Young activist

Lukashenko, a former manager of a collective farm, has ruled Belarus since 1994 with an iron fist, a year before Protasevich was born.

Protasevich began as a digital activist in his teens.

He was arrested several times, including in 2012 – at the age of 17 – for leading two anti-Lukashenko groups on Russia’s social network Vkontakte.

One group called it “We are sick of this Lukashenko”.

“They hit me in the kidneys and liver,” Protasevich, who was a student at the time, said. “I urinated blood for three days. They have threatened me with unresolved killings. “

During the interrogation, he said, Belarusian security service officials, still known as the KGB in Soviet times, asked for passwords from online groups.

He later worked as a photographer for the Belarusian media and received the Vaclav Havel Journalism Scholarship in 2017-2018, an award for former independent journalist, who was named president who became a deceased Czech dissident.

Shortly after enrolling in the journalism faculty at Misk State University in Belarus, Protasevich was expelled from Euroradio, an international radio station that worked from September 2018 to November 2019.