Belarusian journalist and activist Roman Protasevich saw his lawyer yesterday after four days in jail. “Everything is fine, he is doing well, positive and cheerful,” his lawyer Inessa Olenskaya told the independent Belarusian news agency Belapan. Because of her professional secrecy, she couldn’t say any more, she said.
Protasevich and his girlfriend became last Sunday arrested in Minsk after the plane they were on had been arrested for a fake bomb threat had landed in the meantime in the Belarusian capital. In a video distributed a day later by Belarusian government channels, the activist stated that he is behind the demonstrations in Belarus.
The suggestion was quickly made on social media that the statement had been enforced by force. Also be vader on mother, who live in exile in Poland, said they assumed the video was forcibly shot. They also said they had seen signs of violence on their son’s face in the images.
Avoid airspace
The arrest of Protasevich and the manner in which it happened sparked great anger internationally. The European Union has decided new economic sanctions against Belarus. Furthermore, Belarusian aircraft are now banned from European airspace. EU airlines are also being asked to avoid Belarusian airspace.
Yesterday, several European airlines, in turn, reported that they had to cancel flights because Russia did not give them permission to adjust their flight plan to avoid Belarusian airspace. Austrian Airlines flights have been canceled as a result and Air France also reports that it has had to cancel a flight from Paris to Moscow for this reason.
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