Belarusian journalist whose plane was hijacked by Lukashenko’s regime in 2021 explains why he continued to cooperate with authorities — Meduza

On October 14, Russian media personality Ksenia Sobchak published a new video interview with Roman Protasevich, the former head of the famous Belarusian opposition channel Telegram Nexta. In 2021, Protasevich and his then-girlfriend, Russian citizen Sofia Sapega, were traveling from Athens to Vilnius on a Ryanair flight when Belarusian authorities reported a false bomb threat, forcing the plane to land in Minsk , where they arrested the couple. The incident exacerbated already deteriorated relations between Belarus and the European Union, leading the EU to ban its airlines from all travel in Belarusian airspace. Protasevich cooperated with Belarusian state investigators and was eventually pardoned, as was Sapega. Sobchak’s conversation with Protasevich, in which Belarusian propagandist Ryhor Azaronak also participated, took place in Minsk and lasted more than two hours. Meduza shares key takeaways from the interview.

On cooperate with investigators

Asked why he chose to cooperate with Belarusian state investigators after leading the country’s largest opposition media outlet during anti-Lukashenko protests in 2020, Protasevich disputed the notion that prisoners Politicians should refuse to compromise with the authorities.

“All these ideas that people should heroically resist, tell everyone to go to hell, stay silent during interrogations like a guerrilla – the people who most actively promote this idea are the ones who were afraid to even face administrative arrests (for 15 days) who fled the country,” he said.

Protasevich compared this to his own situation, telling Sobchak that he faced a potential sentence of 25 years in prison. He described what he envisioned if he refused to cooperate with the authorities: “I would have gotten my moment of fame from the… opposition media, who would say: ‘Look what a hero he is!’ I would have been made a political prisoner and given my name to an alley in a medium-sized European city. And then what?

On his decision to stay in Belarus

For more than a year after his release from prison, Protasevich said, he considered leaving Belarus and was simply waiting for the opportunity. But over time, he began to question this strategy.

“I had good offers (abroad) and they’re still there, but (at the end I started thinking), ‘So what? What’s the plan after this? All my life I have been a journalist, not a politician,” he said, obviously thinking that a political career in exile would be the only option for him if he moved to the West.

Protasevich also suggested that perhaps he was simply tired of thinking about the fate of Belarus after his traumatic arrest and prison experience. “Another big question is whether I really want to go back to all this, especially after going through the very epicenter, through the meat grinder itself,” he explained.

Become a welder

Protasevich said he spent a lot of time looking for a job in IT after his release from prison, but was repeatedly turned down “because of the risks to his reputation,” even by employers who had actively contacted him for an interview. “So I did some research and realized that the best thing on the job market right now would be welding,” he told Sobchak. “First of all, it’s in high demand, and secondly, the salary is not bad, even when you’re just starting out.”

On allegations that he denounced other members of the opposition

Protasevich said that while most of the online criticism he has faced for his cooperation with investigators has not reached him, it upsets him when people claim he gave testimony that helped authorities imprison other people.

“I always ask these people a simple question: Tell me the names of the individuals who went to prison because of me,” he said.

The former journalist nevertheless admitted having testified against certain people, but he affirmed that his statements had not given rise to new arrests. “A lot of people don’t understand that yes, it’s true, I testified against people, but they were people who were overseas or already behind bars,” he said.

On Sofia Sapéga

Saying he could not reveal details, Protasevich explained that he had reached a deal with Belarusian investigators that allowed the release of Russian citizen Sofia Sapega, his then-partner with whom he was arrested.

“I have great respect for people who choose their path and stick to it until the end, (but) I saw no sense in refusing to cooperate and becoming a martyr,” he said. “I realized that if anyone was capable of getting me out of this very bad situation, it was only me. And what’s more, not only myself, but also a second person (Sapega).