He was traveling with his partner on a Ryanair plane that was forced to land in Minks due to a false bomb notice.
The regional court of Grodno, in Belarus, has sentenced this Friday to six years in prison Sofia Sapega, partner of the opposition Roman Protasevich, who was traveling with her in May 2021 when her plane suffered a forced landing in Minsk by order of the Belarusian authorities.
“In accordance with article 130 and article 179 of the Belarusian Criminal Code, the defendant has been sentenced to six years in prison,” the Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement in which it indicated that Sapega has been found guilty of “inciting to hatred and discord for ideological reasons’.
Likewise, she has been sentenced for “illegally disseminating information about the private life of another person without their consent and having undermined the freedom and legitimate interests of the victims in question.”
In addition, he will have to pay a fine of 167,500 Belarusian rubles (almost 50,000 euros) and an amount of 7,488 rubles (about 2,000 euros) in costs. Justice has decided to replace the house arrest to which Sapega was subject to impose imprisonment against her.
Sapega, Protasevich’s girlfriend, was arrested with him at a passenger document control of an Irish airline Ryanair plane that had made an emergency landing due to an alleged bomb threat. The plane covered the distance between Athens and Vilnius.
The young woman was accused of up to seven crimes, including threats against a public employee, after she confessed to having collaborated with a Telegram channel considered “extremist” by the Belarusian government. The platform disseminated personal information about police officers.
Among the charges for which Sapega will have to answer during the process are interference in the activities of public officials, incitement to hatred, obstruction of the activities of the press, or threats against a judge.
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