Roman Protasevic traveled from Athens to Vilnius, Lithuania, when the Ryanair flight made an emergency landing in Minsk to be arrested.
But who is the 26-year-old journalist?
Protasevic worked for the Polish news network NEXTA, which broadcast images of last year’s protests against the President of Belarus. Alexander Lukashenko.
The network used the Telegram messaging app to give voice and voice to the protests of the people, at a time when it was difficult to access inside the country.
Protasevic then took a job at Belamova, a Telegram channel, but is accused in Belarus of extremism, but also of inciting protests and inciting social hatred.
He denies the charges, but faces up to 15 years in prison.
Because they have him in the crosshairs
Sky Russia correspondent Diana Magnay reveals that the NEXTA network was an opposition medium, a serious voice that “showed what Alexander Lukashenko is doing in his country and how he is trying to suppress the opposition.”
“He [ο πρόεδρος Λουκασένκο] “He persecuted journalists, one after another, calling NEXTA an extremist organization and trying to intimidate everyone in Belarus who does journalistic work, but also to clearly intimidate anyone outside Belarus.”
Magnay says the country’s president is “clearly afraid” of Mr Protasevic, given the how far she had come to catch him.
“It’s an outrageous thing to do, and I wonder how the international community will react, given that Alexander Lukashenko, who has no jurisdiction over Ryanair, has explicitly threatened Ryanair pilots and put his own agents on board.” which was able to divert and land in Minsk».
As it is known, the flight of Ryanair changed course just 2 minutes before entering the airspace of Lithuania. Local media reported that Protasevic put his hands on his face and began to tremble when he realized that the plane would not land in Vilnius.
A passenger from Lithuania told Reuters that the journalist got up from his seat, opened the cupboard, took out a laptop and a mobile phone and gave them to a woman who was accompanying him.
“I will be sentenced to death,” he reportedly told his fellow passengers when he was taken off the flight, according to the Lithuanian media Delfi.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
