Relatives, opposition leader believe detained Belarusian journalist was forced to make video confession


Dzmitry Protasevich says it's clear that his son, Belarusian dissident journalist Roman Protasevich, was coerced by authorities into making a video where he admits to organizing "mass riots."
"It's not his words, it's not the intonation of speech, he is acting very reserved, and you can see he is nervous," Dzmitry Protasevich told Reuters on Tuesday. "My son cannot admit to creating the mass disorders, because he just didn't do any such thing."
On Sunday, Roman Protasevich, 26, was on a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania when Belarus' authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, ordered a fighter jet to escort the plane to the Minsk airport. Once on the ground, Protasevich was arrested. He is the co-founder of an opposition news outlet, and last year was placed on Belarus' list of terrorists, accused of inciting hatred and mass disorder.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a 29-second video released Monday and posted to social media channels allied with Lukashenko, Protasevich said authorities were treating him "as correctly as possible" and he wasn't experiencing any health issues. It looked like there were bruises and abrasions on Protasevich's face, and he appeared to be reading from a script. His father told Reuters it looked like Protasevich's nose had been broken, "because the shape of it is changed."
Amnesty International spokesman Alexander Artemyev told The Washington Post it looked like Protasevich had possibly been subjected to "torture or other ill-treatment." Lukashenko is often referred to as "Europe's last dictator," and Belarusian authorities have been accused of intimidating political prisoners into making forced confessions. After watching the video of Protasevich, Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said there was "no doubt" he had been tortured and was "under pressure."
A second video was released on Tuesday night, this time showing Protasevich's girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, who was detained with him on Sunday. In this clip, Sapega states that she is behind a Telegram channel that released the personal information of law enforcement officers.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
6 elegant Queen Anne Victorian homes
Feature Featuring original diamond-glass doors in New York and a registered historic landmark in Arkansas
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talks
speed read The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'
-
US, China agree to lower tariffs for 90 days
speed read US tariffs will fall to 30% from 145%, while China will cut its tax on US imports to 10% from 125%
-
India strikes Pakistan as tensions mount in Kashmir
speed read Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called it an 'act of war'
-
Israel approves plan to take over Gaza indefinitely
speed read Benjamin Netanyahu says the country is 'on the eve of a forceful entry'
-
Putin talks nukes as Kyiv slated for US air defenses
speed read 'I hope they will not be required,' Putin said of nuclear weapons on Russian state TV
-
US, Ukraine sign joint minerals deal
speed read The Trump administration signed a deal with Ukraine giving the US access to its mineral wealth
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Israel launches air strike on Beirut suburbs
Speed Read The attack targeting Hezbollah was Israel's third on the Lebanese capital since November's ceasefire