Belarusian Leader Claims Jailed journalist Roman Protasiewicz Was an Intelligence Operative
MINSK – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has asserted that Roman Protasiewicz,a journalist previously sentenced too eight years in a penal colony and afterward pardoned,was secretly working as an intelligence agent for Belarus. According to Lukashenko, Protasiewicz traveled to Greece, reported to Belarusian intelligence officers, received assignments, and returned via Vilnius – all while appearing to be an opposition figure.
Lukashenko stated, “We had to perform surgery to stop him.Although we didn’t have to stop him. He went to Greece, was summoned there, reported to the intelligence officers about everything that interested us, was given the assignment and flew back. Back to where he worked, via Vilnius. We were accused of detaining an oppositionist. And he was not our oppositionist. We did not detain an oppositionist. But sanctions were imposed.” The claim, reported Friday by TASS, casts a new light on the 2021 incident involving the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk, leading to Protasiewicz’s arrest.
Protasiewicz, a former co-editor of the opposition channel Nexta - designated “extremist” and later classified as a “terrorist institution” by Belarusian authorities – was detained in May 2021 following the diverted flight from Athens to Vilnius. Prior to his trial, protasiewicz appeared in state media, admitting guilt and criticizing opposition colleagues. He was sentenced to eight years in a penal colony in May 2023, but subsequently pardoned and placed under house arrest pending appeal.
Also detained in 2021 was Sofija Sapiega, a Russian citizen and Protasiewicz’s partner at the time, who was sentenced to six years in prison and later extradited to Russia. The veracity of Lukashenko’s claims remains unconfirmed and is being viewed by some as potential propaganda.
