The Minsk District Court heard updates on the case of Roman Protasevich, the former editor-in-chief of the Nexta channel, who Belarusian authorities regard as linked to extremist activity. He reported serving eight years in a high-security penal colony. The judge, Vyacheslav Tuleiko, stated that the sentence for Protasevich, considering the total crimes and the main terms added together, amounts to eight years in prison. The court simultaneously ordered that Protasevich remain under house arrest until the ruling comes into effect. He left the courtroom without handcuffs and without an escort, choosing not to comment to reporters.
The state prosecutor’s office had requested a ten-year prison sentence for Protasevich. In his final statement, the accused asked for a sentence that would not include prison time and expressed his willingness to take responsibility for repairing the harm he caused. The Belarusian Prosecutor General’s Office has previously noted Protasevich’s full compliance with the terms of a pre-trial cooperation agreement he signed.
next case
Earlier this year, the Minsk District Court began examining a criminal case against Protasevich, Stepan Putilo, and Yan Rudik. Putilo and Rudik are currently abroad. The defendants face charges that include organizing mass uprisings, inciting social hatred, forming an extremist group and a terrorist organization, calling for the seizure of power, and insulting and tarnishing the President of Belarus.
Putilo is identified as the founder of the Nexta YouTube channel, with a network of related projects bearing similar names. The term Nexta combines an English hint at a new generation with a Belarusian interpretation implying anonymity of supporters. Protasevich and Rudik were involved in these projects, according to prosecutors.
During the 2020 protests that erupted after the presidential election, Nexta emerged as a widely used independent media project despite opposition from republican authorities. Prosecutors state that, largely in Poland, the defendants published materials intended to undermine public order and advance a plan to seize state power unconstitutionally in Belarus. They further contend that the defendants urged protesters to carry out acts of terrorism, according to BelTA reports.
In October 2020, the Minsk Central District Court deemed the Nexta live Telegram channel and the Nexta logo to be extremist materials. In April 2022, the Belarusian Supreme Court recognized the extremist Nexta formation and its subdivisions Nexta Live and Luxta as a terrorist organization, banning their activities in Belarus. Today’s ruling states that Putilo and Rudik were sentenced in absentia to 20 and 19 years in prison, respectively.
Ryanair incident
Protasevich and his partner, Russian citizen Sophia Sapega, were detained in Minsk on May 23, 2021, after a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius made an emergency landing in Minsk due to a false report of a bomb on board. The charges included organizing acts of gross violation of public order and incitement of social hatred.
Following the arrest, Protasevich’s public statements appeared apologetic. He expressed remorse, noting that he had been young and impulsive when he believed he could effect change in Belarus. He said his intentions to improve the country were sincere, though he now regards the path he chose as mistaken. He later spoke again in more measured terms during his final remarks.
Protasevich and Sapega were kept under house arrest. On May 6, 2022, Sapega, a Russian national, received a six-year sentence in a penal colony. The Belarusian Prosecutor General’s Office accepted her request to transfer to Russia to serve the sentence. On May 24, the Moscow Presnensky Court was expected to review the Federation’s penitentiary service filing related to her case.
In May of the previous year, Protasevich married, though the identity of the spouse was not disclosed. He later told reporters that his relationship with Sapega had effectively ended before the couple’s arrival in Minsk and that nothing connects the criminal cases they faced.