Sincere repentance was the reason for the pardon of the former editor of the Nexta Telegram channel, Roman Protasevich. This was stated by the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, on June 13 to journalists during a working trip to the Minsk region.
This guy did everything he promised. It’s not because you don’t go to jail. He admitted that he did wrong. He was not at the front, he did not kill anyone.– Sputnik quoted him as saying.
Recall that in the summer and autumn of 2020, the NEXTA Telegram channel actively covered and coordinated anti-government protests in Belarus during the country’s presidential elections. In early April 2022, the Supreme Court of Belarus recognized the NEXTA Telegram channel and its NEXTA Live and Luxta divisions as terrorist organizations with a ban on their activities in the country.
Protasevich was detained on May 23, 2021 when he was flying from Athens to Vilnius through Belarusian airspace. At the request of the Belarusian Ministry of Defense, the plane made an emergency landing at the Minsk airport, citing a report that it had been mined.
On May 3, 2023, the Minsk Regional Court sentenced the former head of the NEXTA Telegram channel Roman Protasevich to eight years in prison for publicly calling for the seizure of state power, acts of terrorism, for insulting the president, knowingly spreading false information . about Belarus and other crimes. On May 16, he was pardoned by decree of the President of Belarus.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.