MINSK: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko revealed that Roman Protasevich, considered an opposition figure, is in fact a Belarusia...
MINSK: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko revealed that Roman Protasevich, considered an opposition figure, is in fact a Belarusian intelligence officer.
"I won't go into detail. Protasevich is an agent of our intelligence service," the BelTA news agency quoted him as saying.
According to the Belarusian president, Protasevich posed as a representative of the "fugitive" Belarusian opposition. Before his "detention" at Minsk Airport, where his plane landed due to a bomb threat, Protasevich was on a mission from Greece.
"They turned around and flew to Minsk. They landed in Minsk. I said: ‘Well, carry out the operation properly, he was working undercover for these fugitives. Conduct the operation correctly,’" Lukashenko said.
In Greece, he added, Protasevich met with intelligence service representatives. "He was summoned there. He provided everything we were interested in to the intelligence officers. Then, he received his assignment and flew back. He flew back to where he worked via Vilnius," he added.
Lukashenko recalled that the incident involving the plane and Protasevich's detention led to sanctions being imposed on the country: "We were accused of detaining an opposition figure. But he is not actually our opposition figure. We did not detain an opposition figure."
Protasevich and Nexta
Protasevich is still considered one of the creators of the Nexta Telegram channel. On May 23, 2021, he was detained at Minsk airport together with Russian citizen Sofia Sapega. Their plane, operating Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius, made an emergency landing in Minsk after reports of an explosive device on board. This information was not confirmed. On May 3, 2023, the Minsk Regional Court sentenced Protasevich to eight years in prison. On May 16, Lukashenko pardoned him.
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