Posted 24 мая 2021,, 15:55

Published 24 мая 2021,, 15:55

Modified 24 декабря 2022,, 22:37

Updated 24 декабря 2022,, 22:37

Russian woman detained together with Roman Protasevich was found in the Minsk detention center

Russian woman detained together with Roman Protasevich was found in the Minsk detention center

24 мая 2021, 15:55
Фото: sapega_sofia_ / instagram
Russian citizen, journalist Sofya Sapega flew yesterday, May 23, from Athens to Vilnius on the same plane with Roman Protasevich, ex-editor of the Belarusian opposition telegram channel NEXTA. The plane was forcibly landed in Minsk, Roman Protasevich was detained.

The media learned later that the Russian woman was also detained.

"The parents of 23-year-old Sophia Sapieha (pictured) managed to find out that she ended up in the notorious beating of detainees and other abuse of them in the past, 2020, an isolation ward on Akrestsin Street in Minsk. The Russian consul in Minsk promised the girl's parents to meet with her", - reports the TV channel "Rain".

- We met with the consul, talked, described the situation, they are aware of what happened, I hope they will help us, - said Sofia Sapieha's mother Anna Dudich. She added that she found out about the RyanAir landing that caused a big resonance in the world from Instagram. According to her, her daughter managed to write to her in WhatsApp only the word "mom" and did not have time to continue. Later, the media reported that the plane landed urgently due to the threat of mining, and a fighter was taken into the air by order of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko to force it to land.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the Russian Embassy in Belarus had indeed already requested information about Sophia Sapega and asked to provide the consul with access to it. What is the reason for her detention is still unknown even to Russian diplomats.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian president, said the Kremlin "has no information" about the four Russians on board a Ryanair plane that flew from Athens to Lithuania and made an unscheduled landing in Minsk. It is known that they never made it to Vilnius, Novaya Gazeta reports.

The Vilnius-based European Humanities University has called for the release of Sophia Sapega, who is studying there . The university is sure that she was detained for "far-fetched and unreasonable circumstances". They added that the student is distinguished by "high academic performance and an impeccable reputation in the community," and also that she had to defend her master's work.

The incident with the unscheduled landing of a plane in Minsk and the arrest of Roman Protasevich, who faces at least a long term in Belarus in Belarus, has already been condemned by the authorities of a number of European countries. Lithuania decided to ban all flights flying over Belarus, the head of the Latvian Transport Ministry also announced the decision of AirBaltic not to fly over Belarus, a number of countries, including France, announced that they would initiate a complete ban on civil flights in the airspace of Belarus.

"