Statement by the Yabloko Bureau, 27.05.2021

Photo: Alexei Alexandrov / RIA Novosti

On 23 May, 2021, an act of state terrorism was committed in Belarus.

On the direct order by Alexander Lukashenko, a passenger plane of the Irish airline Ryanair flying over Belarus was landed in Minsk with the help of deceit (false information about a bomb) and threats (a scrambled military fighter jet).

After that, the Belarusian KGB detained Roman Protasevich, an opposition journalist and former editor of the Telegram channel NEXTA, and Russian citizen Sofya Sapega. Both of them are arrested.

Protasevich is accused of extremist activity and was included in the list of terrorists, Sapega is accused of inciting social hatred for publishing personal data of the Belarusian law enforcement officers who used force against civilians. They both face long-term imprisonment sentences.

Judging by the released videos, there is every reason to believe that Protasevich and Sapega are subjected to physical and psychological pressure in order to force them to “confess” in the aforementioned crimes.

We regard what is happening as an outrageous international crime: the hijacking of a foreign plane in order to kidnap Lukashenko’s political opponent.

We also see how Lukashenko’s political regime, which is not recognised by most European countries, takes a Russian citizen hostage, and Russian diplomats (hypocritically claiming that Russia “does not abandon its citiezns”) do not make any real efforts to free Sapega and return her to Russia. Instead, the Russian Foreign Ministry actually approves of the actions of the Belarusian dictator. This position runs counter to the national interests of Russia, destroys the prestige of the Russian state both domestically and abroad.

We express our solidarity with Roman Protasevich and demand his immediate release.

We demand that the President of the Russian Federation and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation take immediate actions to release Sophia Sapega and return her to Russia.

We regard the actions of Alexander Lukashenko and the law enforcement structures of Belarus as a gross provocation against peace and stability in Europe and a violation of the basic principles and norms of international law. These actions are subject to unconditional political condemnation by Russia.

We believe that this act represents another crime of the Belarusian regime and once again indicates of its readiness to use any methods, including criminal and terrorist ones, against the political opposition.

We note that we see the same readiness in the current Russian regime: acts of state terrorism, creation of death squads, kidnapping, poisoning and murder of opponents (including outside Russia) are becoming methods of political struggle.

The Russian regime, using such methods, declares those whose testimony is knocked out by torture as “terrorists” and those who conduct anti-corruption investigations, demands fair elections, political competition and a legal change of government as “extremists”. This is what the Russian government regards as “extremism”, adopting laws on the mass deprivation of dissenting citizens of their voting rights.

We note that the similarities between the Russian and the Belarusian political regimes have become increasingly more conspicuous. Like the two heads of the Dragon, they use increasingly similar methods for their self-preservation and destruction of democratic institutions and freedoms.

We are calling on Russian citizens to actively participate in the elections so that to prevent the “lukashenisation” of Russia.

Nikolai Rybakov,

Yabloko Chairman