“The court finds Sapega guilty of charges of ‘deliberate acts intended to incite social enmity and discord on the basis of social affiliation committed by a group of people, which had grave consequences,'” said the verdict delivered at the Grodnensky District Court in Belarus. .
The court on Friday also said that Sapega was found guilty of illegally collecting and distributing personal data. She was sentenced to one month in prison for that crime and also had to pay compensation in the amount of 167,500 Belarusian rubles (or about $65,000). The sentence can be appealed within 10 days.
Last May, Belarusian authorities took the extraordinary step of diverting a Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece to Vilnius, Lithuania, to Minsk, claiming there was a bomb threat.
On the flight were Sapega and his partner Roman Protasevich, founder of the Telegram channel Nexta. Both were arrested in Minsk and placed under house arrest in late June 2021, according to TASS.
Since then , Protasevich appeared several times in state-controlled or pro-government media. In a video posted on a pro-government social media channel, he says he “confessed” to “organizing mass riots” in Minsk – an admission his family and supporters believe was forced.
He was one of dozens of Belarusian journalists and activists who campaign in exile against the 27-year authoritarian rule of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.
Nexta helped mobilize protests against Lukashenko and was recognized “as an extremist site in Belarus,” according to TASS.
The plane’s interception and the couple’s arrest drew worldwide condemnation of Lukashenko, known as “Europe’s last dictator”, whose iron grip on his country has grown ever stronger in recent years.
The protests approached the strong man of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who provided Belarus with hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid. Since then, Belarus has played a key role in the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
When asked to comment on Sapega’s sentence, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia “will continue to protect its legitimate interests” as she is a Russian citizen.
“We really don’t like it when someone comments on our court’s decisions and we will not comment on the decision of the Belarus friendly court,” Peskov said during a daily call with reporters.
know more
+ New Montana: 3rd generation of Chevrolet pickup arrives in 2023
+ Omicron: Unexpected symptom of infection in children worries medical teams
+ Mercadão de SP vendors threaten customers with fruit scam
+ Video: Mother is attacked on social media for wearing tight clothes to take her son to school
+ Horoscope: check today’s forecast for your sign
+ What is known about fluorone?
+ Trick to squeeze lemons becomes a craze on social media
+ ‘Monster Ichthyosaur’ is discovered in Colombia
+ One twin became vegan, the other ate meat. Check the result
+ See which were the most stolen cars in SP in 2021
+ Expedition identifies giant squid responsible for ship sinking in 2011
+ US Agency warns: never wash raw chicken meat
#Student #arrested #year #forcing #plane #land