As Andrei Sapega told RT, he made the decision to write down an appeal to the President of Belarus spontaneously.
- I saw in the local media that a visit to Lukashenka in the Primorsky Territory is planned.
The Governor of the Primorsky Territory, Oleg Nikolaevich Kozhemyako, has good personal relations with Alexander Grigorievich Lukashenko, and they are of a long-term nature.
And I decided to ask the head of the region to assist in organizing this meeting.
I phoned the journalists I knew in our regional holding PrimaMedia and on the same day I recorded everything in the studio.
I did not prepare or rehearse.
I just immediately said with emotion how I felt.
- If you manage to organize the meeting, what will you say to Lukashenka personally?
- Probably the same thing that has already been said.
I will appeal to his fatherly feelings.
To say what I really think about.
I am sure that everything happened because of my daughter's acquaintance with Roman Protasevich.
I see no other explanation besides its influence.
And everything is clear with him, he is an opposition journalist who professionally conducted his activities.
But Sophia did not meet him at the protests.
This is a casual acquaintance, not according to interests, just a young guy and a girl met at a bar.
They started a relationship.
Sophia began to help the young man in his work.
Although before that she led the life of an ordinary young girl.
I reacted negatively to this union.
In my opinion, the relationship was toxic.
I thought that a relationship with such an ambiguous figure as Roman Protasevich meant nothing good for my daughter.
And, as subsequent events showed, I was right.
- When did you find out that your daughter has a relationship with a “professional oppositionist”?
- She told me about it in the second half of January. I knew that she had started some kind of serious relationship, but did not insist that she reveal all the secrets of her personal life. She is quite an adult person. In one of our telephone conversations, she admitted that she was meeting with Protasevich. Their relationship did not develop easily. At some point, they broke up. Just in those days I called Sophia, and she had a murdered voice. Asked what happened? She says we parted, I'm alone again. I tried to console her, but inside was delighted, as I understood the toxicity of this relationship. It was absolutely useless to her. She was preparing a diploma, master's work. It was necessary to decide where to go to work, to take the first steps that will determine her future. Therefore, I was against this relationship, it was useless.
- How close was your relationship with your daughter, given that she lived in another country?
“We're close enough.
I have fully supported her since she left Primorye, and then, when she graduated from school and entered the European Humanities University.
By the way, anticipating the questions of why they decided to send her there, I will say right away: I did not understand what kind of institution it was.
They just decided on the basis of convenience.
Vilnius is an hour's bus ride from the city of Lida, while there were benefits for admission.
They wanted to find a European university, but not very far from home, and then there is also preferential admission.
Five years ago, this seemed like a convenient option.
I financed her living, education.
Her trip to Greece was also fully financed: he transferred both tickets and money for shopping when there was not enough for something.
- How often did you call?
- Several times a week, sometimes they talked for five minutes, sometimes the conversation could drag on for an hour.
We have never discussed any of her work, which runs Telegram channels.
The last time we spoke was before leaving for Greece.
We talked with her for almost an hour.
Something worried her.
I can't say what exactly, but it was clear that she was worried, she said that she did not know what to do after graduation, she had not yet decided where to go.
We talked about the topic of her thesis.
It was my desire for her to study international law.
The topic of her master's work, as far as I know, was related to the institution of marriage in the EU.
- She said she was flying with Protasevich?
- When she asked for money for a trip to Greece, I asked who she was flying with.
She said that with a young married couple.
At that time, I did not know that she again got along with Protasevich.
I didn't even think that she could fly with him.
My father's heart did not skip a beat.
She knew that I was against their relationship, so she decided to hide that they were flying together.
I was absolutely sure that their relationship had come to naught, and they no longer communicate.
Also on russian.rt.com Lavrov and Makei discussed the situation with the Russians detained in Belarus
- How do you manage to keep in touch with Sophia now, is it known what she thinks about the current situation?
- I can only follow Sophia's moods by the letters that she sends to her mother, and that to me.
I also wrote her a letter.
I really hope she got it.
I know that at every meeting with a lawyer, Sophia asks about me.
In the letters, I did not see her any formulated attitude to what happened.
She writes about ordinary things, experiences, unfulfilled plans.
Lawyers say she is confused.
She does not lose her presence of mind, but the first shock after the arrest has passed, and she begins to wonder what happened.
The gravity of the situation begins to dawn on her.
I think the feeling of guilt is beginning to awaken, asking for forgiveness from my mother and me.
Now she is undergoing a reassessment of values.
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What are the chances that Lukashenka will pardon your daughter?
How do you see the optimal solution to the situation?
- I understand the seriousness of the issue and the complexity of Alexander Grigorievich's position in this matter.
Too serious articles on which Sophia is accused.
Moreover, it is difficult to find a more annoying factor for the power bloc of Belarus than editing such Telegram channels (“The Black Book of Belarus”, where the data of the security officials were disclosed. -
RT
).
The pardon option is, of course, possible.
But I think that it would be more correct for everyone and a reasonable compromise to extradite Sophia to Russia.
In that situation, she cannot count on the leniency of justice in Belarus.
If she is to blame for something, the proceedings should take place in Russia.
There is all the necessary legal basis for this, agreements between states.
Nothing will prevent you from taking such a step.
A pardon is possible, but it is a tough decision, and extradition would be a reasonable compromise.
If I understood the mechanism of this process, I myself would do everything in my power to initiate the extradition process.
But so far I do not understand very well who I should turn to, which door to knock on.
So far, I have only hired two lawyers to represent Sophia's interests.
Perhaps my appeal to Alexander Grigorievich will help me decide on further actions while I am in shock.