Belarus has pardoned an opposition activist who was arrested in 2021 after the Belarusian government forced the landing of a commercial flight on which he was flying through the skies, state media reported Monday.
The activist, Roman Protasevich, 28, was the editor of Nexta, a channel on the Telegram messaging app that was instrumental in organizing mass protests against President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko after his disputed 2020 election victory. The details of the arrest of Mr. Protasevich attracted international attention.
A Belarusian court sentenced Mr Protasevich to eight years in prison in May for acts of terrorism and insulting the president, among other charges. But on Monday, Belarus’ state news agency, Belta, reported that Mr Protasevich had told journalists he had been pardoned, calling it “great news”.
Such leniency for someone who was an active member of the opposition is unusual in Belarus, where during nearly three decades in power Mr Lukashenko has a longstanding pattern of silencing dissent and violently repressing it from opponents.
Following the decision, Mr. Protasevich said he was “insanely grateful to the country and personally to the president” for pardoning him, according to a video published by Belta.
Like many Belarusian activists, Mr Protasevich had fled into exile. But in May 2021, he was on a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania when a Belarusian fighter jet forced the plane to land in Minsk, the Belarusian capital. Security officials arrested him on the tarmac along with his Russian girlfriend Sofia Sapega.
After the arrest, Mr. Protasevich made a confession that was broadcast on state television apologizing for his actions, which his family said were coerced. His statements included praise for Mr. Lukashenko and an admission that he tried to overthrow him.
In June 2021, Mr Protasevich denied betraying anyone, but acknowledged that “many people consider me a traitor” because he cooperated with Belarusian authorities after his arrest.
Ms. Sapega, who was arrested with him, was sentenced to six years in prison in Belarus. Her request for a pardon was denied.
More than 1,500 people in Belarus are considered political prisoners by human rights groups and many are said to be serving their sentences in appalling conditions.
