The former editor of Belarusion opposition Telegram channel NEXTA, Roman Protasevich, was given an eight-year prison term by a court in Minsk on Wednesday, state-run news agency BelTa has reported.
Protasevich was in the courtroom for the verdict, with two of his associates – Stepan Putilo and Yan Rudik, who remain at large – sentenced in absentia to 20 and 19 years, respectively.
The trio behind the NEXTA channel, which gained prominence amid a wave of violent anti-government protests in Belarus in 2020 and 2021, were found guilty of organizing mass riots and making public calls to seize power, commit acts of terrorism, and other actions aimed at harming the national security of Belarus, and also of slandering President Alexander Lukashenko, among other things.
The judge said Protasevich has been cooperating with the investigation, a fact that was reflected in his sentence. The time the 27-year-old spent in pre-trial detention and under house arrest will be factored into his term, he added.
The unrest began in Belarus after the presidential vote in August 2020 that the opposition claimed was rigged by Lukashenko. The US and the EU slapped sanctions on Minsk over claimed election fraud and a crackdown on demonstrators.
The protests eventually died down after failing to achieve any of their goals, with many activists fleeing abroad. Lukashenko insisted that the uprising was funded by the West, in an attempt to remove him from power.
The arrest of Protasevich, who operated from Poland, made international headlines in May 2021. A Ryanair flight carrying the activist was grounded in Minsk due to an alleged bomb threat. No explosive device was discovered on board, and the Irish carrier called the incident “state-sponsored piracy.”
Protasevich and Putilo have been on the Belarusian list of persons involved in terrorist activities since 2020. The following year, NEXTA was designated an extremist organization in Belarus.
Protasevich’s girlfriend, Russian citizen Sofia Sapega, who was on the flight with him, was sentenced to six years in prison in 2022 for running a Telegram channel that disclosed the personal data of Belarusian law enforcement officers during the protests. Later this month, a Moscow court will rule on whether Sapega can be extradited to Russia to serve the rest of the term in her home country.