Belarus: Parents of Arrested Journalist Call on International Community for Help
Dmitir and Natalia Protassevich, the parents of journalist and activist Roman Protassevich at a press conference in Warsaw on May 27, 2021. © Czarek Sokolowski / AP
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5 mins
The parents of Roman Protassevich, the dissident journalist arrested after his Athens-Vilnius flight crash-landed in Minsk, are worried about his situation.
They call on the international community for help.
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Natalia Protassevitch wants to make heard "
the cry of (her) soul
".
At a press conference this Thursday in Warsaw, Roman Protassevich's mother called on journalists present to convey to European and American leaders their appeal for help.
"
I am screaming, I beg you, help me free my son,
" she said.
"
Maybe we can find a way to persuade or influence Citizen Lukashenko so that he comes to his senses and takes the measure of the atrocities he commits against our beautiful youth, intelligent, honest and in love with freedom.
Any hour, any minute wasted can cost my son and all these young people behind bars their lives.
Save them, please.
"
"
We see that he has a broken nose
"
The Belarusian dissident and his companion appeared in two separate videos shot in prison, on Monday May 24 and Wednesday May 26, respectively.
Roman Protassevich's only lasted 27 seconds.
He announces that he has confessed.
But his parents believe he confessed under duress.
Natalia Protassevich recounts her concern after watching this video. For her, the signs of violence are obvious. “
We still don't know where he is. His lawyer does not have access to him. On the video released by the Belarusian Interior Ministry, we see traces of violence, he was beaten. As a mom, I know my son's facial features. And I can see very well that on his face that there are traces of violence. We see the bruises that have been made up
, describes the mother of the 26-year-old journalist
. We see that he has a broken nose. On his neck, we see traces of strangulation.
"
Dmitri Protassevich, Roman's father, considered his son to be "
a hero
".
The journalist's parents, themselves exiled in Warsaw since the crackdown launched in Belarus in 2020, have remained without any contact with their son since his arrest on Sunday at Minsk airport.
► Also to listen: International guest - Belarus: "Europe must do everything to ensure that Lukashenko leaves power quickly"
"
The regime is ready to do anything to silence us
"
Stepan Poutilo, founder of the media Nexta, of which Roman Protassevich was editor-in-chief, was with his parents in the Polish capital during the press conference.
For him, this arrest is a revenge which shows the inability of the Belarusian power to block these opposition media which played a key role in the protest: "
The dictator was not able to block or ban these channels, and so on. is why we were placed, first, on the international wanted list, even before Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. We are accused of terrorism and extremism. In Belarus, the sources who sent us information or documents are sentenced to 18 years in prison.
"
Although he is abroad, Stepan Poutilo fears government reprisals even more since the arrest of his former editor-in-chief: “
We have received even more threats and we have been forced to ask Poland for resources. extra to ensure our safety, because our activities are very dangerous and the regime is ready to do anything to silence us
”.
Like the parents of the arrested journalist, he asks the international community to step up the pressure: "
In eight months, these sanctions have not scared the regime and that is why he dares such acts
".
Condemnation of the G7
In London, the G7 foreign ministers condemned "
with the greatest firmness
" the arrest of Roman Protassevich and his companion and demanded their "
immediate and unconditional release
", as well as that of other journalists and political prisoners in the country.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko sparked outrage among Westerners by sending a fighter jet on Sunday to intercept a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius, on which the dissident journalist and his Russian friend Sofia Sapega were traveling, who were arrested.
The Twenty-Seven retaliated by denying Belarusian airlines access to the European Union and asking European carriers not to fly over its airspace.
The head of the European diplomacy Josep Borrell indicated Wednesday that the EU intended to pay a high price to the Belarusian president and was still considering "
to propose sectoral economic sanctions
".
Faced with the avalanche of Western condemnations and new EU sanctions against the regime he has led since 1994, Alexander Loukachenko assured Wednesday that he "
acted legally
".
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Belarus
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