Espreso. Global

Lukashenko pardons ex-editor-in-chief of Nexta Protasevich, sentenced to 8 years

22 May, 2023 Monday
17:49

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned the former editor-in-chief of the opposition Telegram channel Nexta, Roman Protasevich, who was sentenced to 8 years in prison

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Belta reported the information. 

Protasevich himself spoke about his pardon. 

"I have just signed all the relevant documents that I have been pardoned. This is, of course, just great news," said Protasevich.

On May 3, Minsk Regional Court sentenced Roman Protasevich to 8 years in prison. He was found guilty of "public calls for the seizure of state power, acts of terrorism, insulting the president, disseminating deliberately false information about Belarus and other crimes." 

Roman Protasevich and his then-girlfriend Sofia Sapieha were detained in May 2021 as a result of a forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Minsk.

  • On May 23, 2021, Roman Protasevich, the founder of the opposition Telegram channel Nexta, was detained in Minsk, where he was on board an Athens-Vilnius flight that was grounded due to a report of an explosive device on board. 

  • On May 3, 2023, a court in Belarus sentenced Roman Protasevich to 8 years in a maximum security prison.

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