Opposition activist and journalist Roman Protasevich has been pardoned in Belarus. In the beginning of May, he was sentenced to eight years in prison, as reported by Belarusian state media.
“I have literally just signed all the relevant documents that pardon me,” Protasevich told journalists. “This is great news.”
Protasevich is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Nexta opposition media. He was detained by Belarusian authorities in May 2021, when a Ryanair passenger aircraft was forced to land by Belarusian air force.
Two other Nexta employees Stepan Putilo and Yan Rudik, who successfully fled Belarus, were sentenced in-absentia to 20 and 19 years in prison, respectively.
At the beginning of Protasevich’s trial, he fully admitted his guilt in a video later published by Belarusian state media Belta.
Since June 2021 Protasevich was put under house arrest.
Nexta channel, which is a popular channel on YouTube and Telegram, played a major role in the 2020 protests in Belarus after presidential elections.
This channel was banned in Belarus and declared a ”terrorist organisation”.
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