Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich, who disappeared after communist regime agents abducted him from a flight, resurfaced in a video confession on Monday.
Protasevich confirmed he was in Belarusian regime custody and confessed to “having organized mass unrest in the city of Minsk,” according to a translation from Agence France-Presse.
Communist regime agents diverted the Ryanair flight from Athens bound for Vilnius on Sunday, on which Protasevich was a passenger, citing a potential bomb threat in what both airline CEO Michael O’Leary and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called a “state-sponsored hijacking.” The plane was in Belarusian airspace at the time of its grounding.
Airline officials dismissed the alleged bomb threat, pointing to Protasevich’s arrest as the motivation for grounding the flight.
“It was clear that the intent of the Belarusian authorities was to remove a journalist and his travelling companion. We believe some KGB agents were offloaded from the aircraft as well,” O’Leary said.
In the video, Protasevich appears wearing a black hoodie while sitting at a plain table with a pack of cigarettes clearly visible.
“I am in Detention Center no. 1 in Minsk. I can say that I have no health problems, including with my heart or any other organs,” he said, despite visible discolorations on his forehead that appear to be bruises.
“The attitude of employees towards me is as correct as possible and according to the law. I continue cooperating with investigators and am confessing to having organized mass unrest in the city of Minsk,” he said.
Several foreign leaders have condemned Minsk’s actions in forcing the plane’s landing. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on the European Union to impose “clear and severe consequences that will leave no room for Belarus to question our unity and determination.”
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab forecast “serious implications” for the Belarusian regime over what he described as “outlandish action” by Belarus’s longtime communist dictator and only “president” in its history, Alexander Lukashenko.
On Monday, the European Union (E.U.) agreed to impose sanctions on Belarus for its actions. Among the penalizing measures, Belarusian fligths may no longer use the airspace or airports belonging to EU countries.
The bloc further demanded the release of Pratasevich.
“Freedom for Raman Pratasevich” (Roman Protashevich) is written on a protest wagon in front of the Embassy of Belarus in Berlin, Germany, Monday, May 24, 2021. The EU has strongly condemned the forced landing of a scheduled flight by Belarusian authorities in Minsk and held out the prospect of sanctions against those responsible. In addition, EU foreign affairs representative Borrell demanded the immediate release of Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich on behalf of all 27 EU states. (Christoph Soeder/dpa via AP)
“We won’t tolerate that one can try to play Russian roulette with the lives of innocent civilians,” E.U. Council chief Charles Michel said.
Belarus saw the eruption of violent protests in August of 2020, following a presidential election in which Lukashenko, the country’s first and only president since 1994, claimed a victory with 80 percent of the vote. Demonstrators insisted the vote tallies were rigged and marshaled large crowds for weeks on end to demand the president’s resignation, prompting a massive crackdown from the government.