Sofia Sapega agreed to extradition to Russia

"As soon as the relevant permission (to visit convicted Russians) was issued by the Belarusian authorities, our consul on Monday, April 10, visited Sofia Sapega, she agreed to be extradited to Russia for possible serving of further punishment already on the territory of the Russian Federation", - Maskalev said (quoted by TASS).

He added that further Russian and Belarusian law enforcement officers will coordinate the details of the extradition.

The Russian woman was detained on May 23, 2021 at the Minsk airport together with Roman Protasevich, one of the founders of the extremist Telegram channel Nexta recognized in Belarus. She was found guilty of committing deliberate actions by a group of persons aimed at inciting social hostility and discord on the basis of social affiliation. She was also found guilty of illegal collection and dissemination of information. In May 2022, Sapieha was sentenced to six years in a penal colony in Belarus.

In January 2023, the pardon commission under the President of Belarus rejected her petition. In early April, information appeared in the media about Sapieha's possible imminent return to Russia, where she will serve the rest of her sentence. On April 3, lawyer Anton Gashinsky announced the launch of the procedure for the transfer of the Russian woman. It was noted that the parents of the convict filed a petition with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the transfer of their daughter to a Russian colony and received consent from the Belarusian side.