‘High probability’ Roman Protasevich is being tortured, says Belarus opposition leader

There is a “high probability” that the young blogger detained in Belarus after a plane hijacking is being tortured, the country’s opposition leader has warned.

Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, who fled the country after last summer’s fraudulent election, told a press conference on Monday that she feared for Roman Protasevich’s life.

Mr Protasevic, a 26-year-old journalist, was detained by Belarusian security forces after Ryanair flight FR4978 was forcibly diverted by fighter jets to Minsk on its journey from Athens to Vilnius.

Speaking about her fears for his safety, Ms Tikhanouskaya said:  “We are really afraid not only for his freedom, but for his life.

“We do not know where he is and in what condition. There is a high probability that at this very moment he is being tortured by the secret service staff.”

The blogger, who co-founded Nexta, the main opposition platform during last year’s protests, allegedly told fellow passengers on their descent to Minsk that “a death sentence” was awaiting him in Belarus.

Mr Protasevic earned the ire of the Belarusian president when Nexta became the most widely-used opposition platform during Mr Lukashenko’s brutal crackdown against protesters.

Nexta never coordinated the protests but curated readers’ content and leaks, according to the young journalist.

“We saw that those who had the potential to be a protest leader were either in prison or under surveillance. It was our time to step up,” he told The Independent last August:

A spokesperson for the autocratic president Alexander Lukashenko said he personally dispatched the MiG-29 fighter jets on a mission to force the plane to land.

The hijacking has been met with strong criticism from world leaders and the EU is considering introducing more sanctions as a result of the incident.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said that sanctions would be considered against individuals involved in hijacking, businesses that finance the Lukashenko regime and the country’s aviation sector.

She added that Mr Protasevic must be released immediately.

British foreign secretary Dominic Raab also condemned the forced grounding and arrest, saying the move “appears to be a serious violation of international law on civil aviation”.