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“It is already the second day that Ramanas Pratasevičius has been arrested, and we still do not know where he is or what his status is. There is a high probability that he is currently being tortured by special services officials, ”he said during a press conference in Vilnius on Monday.
“His girlfriend Sofia Sapega, 23, was arrested with him, she flew the same flight. We know from her relatives that they took her to Okrestina (BNS). “Sofia is a Russian citizen and human rights defenders say that the Russian consul has refused to help her,” Cichanouskaya said.
He said it is not yet known what the girl is accused of.
S. Sapega studies at the European University of Humanities in Vilnius.
Cichanouskaya claimed to be in constant contact with the parents of R. Pratasevičius, a blogger and founder of the Nexta news channel, who was arrested in Minsk on Sunday. However, neither they nor the lawyer hired have yet found the place where the journalist is being detained.
“It takes a few days for relatives in Belarus to find out where their loved one is,” said the opposition leader.
According to her, the forced landing of a passenger plane in Minsk on Sunday showed that Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenko and his regime are not only a threat to Belarusians.
“Now everyone understands that the threat is not only for Belarusians, the act of state terrorism has been carried out. Now any passenger on a plane that flies over Belarus will be in danger.” The regime has converted our country, North Korea, in the center of Europe, “Cichanouskaya said.
He said he stayed in contact with politicians from the European Union and the United States.
“We demand new sanctions, the removal of Belarus from the International Civil Aviation Organization and the opening of an investigation so that all those responsible can be punished. We also call for the suspension of Belarus’ membership in Interpol, because the regime is using its membership for their political purposes, “Cichanouskaya said.
On Sunday afternoon, a Ryanair passenger plane flying from Athens to Vilnius landed at Minsk airport. He had approached Lithuanian airspace, but was forced to head to the capital of Belarus.
Ryanair reported that the plane landed at Minsk airport because Belarusian air dispatchers reported a possible security threat on board. This information was not confirmed later.
In addition, Belarus had raised a fighter plane and a military helicopter to force a civilian plane to land.
The plane was piloted by the Belarusian opposition journalist and activist R. Pratasevich. When the plane landed in Minsk, he was detained, as well as his girlfriend, a student at the European University of Humanities in Vilnius, a Russian citizen S. Sapega.
Last year, the founders of Nexta, Sciapan Pucil, 22, and R. Pratasevich, 26, were included by Belarus in the list of “people involved in terrorist activities”, and the channel itself was declared “extremist” . and ordered to be blocked.
