00:26Belarus: Girlfriend of arrested journalist Protasevich appears in video
A video showing detained journalist Roman Protasevich’s girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, emerged on the Yellow Leaks Telegram channel on Tuesday.
Ruptly cannot independently verify the exact date and place where the video was shot.
"Me, Sapega Sofya Andreevna, born on February 10, 1998, a citizen of the Russian Federation, living in the territory of Lithuania in the city of Vilnius on St. Stephen Street, flew on the same plane with Roman Protasevich on May 23, 2021. I am the editor of the Telegram channel ‘Black Book of Belarus,’ which publishes personal information about internal affairs officers," Sapega appeared saying in the leaked footage.
Sapega, a 23-year-old student, is the Russian girlfriend of Belarusian opposition activist and journalist Protasevich who was arrested after a Vilnius-bound plane was forced into landing in Minsk, was also detained following the plane grounding.
The student’s mother Anna Dudich denied having information on any illegal activities of her daughter, saying that she is aware of the existence of this Telegram channel, but does not know anything about her daughter's involvement in it..
On Sunday, a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius carrying Protasevich, an exiled opponent of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, was forced to divert to Minsk over a supposed bomb threat. Once the plane landed, the police boarded the aircraft and arrested Protasevich.
The activist is the former editor-in-chief of Belarusian opposition Telegram channel Nexta and is accused of terrorism in his home country.
He was put on an international wanted list by the Belarusian authorities in November, accused of organising mass riots and of inciting social hatred following last August’s presidential election that saw Lukashenko win a sixth term in office.
Western leaders, including EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, have called for an international investigation into the incident and demanded the immediate release of Protasevich.
00:26A video showing detained journalist Roman Protasevich’s girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, emerged on the Yellow Leaks Telegram channel on Tuesday.
Ruptly cannot independently verify the exact date and place where the video was shot.
"Me, Sapega Sofya Andreevna, born on February 10, 1998, a citizen of the Russian Federation, living in the territory of Lithuania in the city of Vilnius on St. Stephen Street, flew on the same plane with Roman Protasevich on May 23, 2021. I am the editor of the Telegram channel ‘Black Book of Belarus,’ which publishes personal information about internal affairs officers," Sapega appeared saying in the leaked footage.
Sapega, a 23-year-old student, is the Russian girlfriend of Belarusian opposition activist and journalist Protasevich who was arrested after a Vilnius-bound plane was forced into landing in Minsk, was also detained following the plane grounding.
The student’s mother Anna Dudich denied having information on any illegal activities of her daughter, saying that she is aware of the existence of this Telegram channel, but does not know anything about her daughter's involvement in it..
On Sunday, a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius carrying Protasevich, an exiled opponent of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, was forced to divert to Minsk over a supposed bomb threat. Once the plane landed, the police boarded the aircraft and arrested Protasevich.
The activist is the former editor-in-chief of Belarusian opposition Telegram channel Nexta and is accused of terrorism in his home country.
He was put on an international wanted list by the Belarusian authorities in November, accused of organising mass riots and of inciting social hatred following last August’s presidential election that saw Lukashenko win a sixth term in office.
Western leaders, including EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, have called for an international investigation into the incident and demanded the immediate release of Protasevich.