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Moscow appreciates Minsk’s decision to pardon Russian national Sapega — Kremlin

The Minsk Regional Court sentenced Protasevich to eight years in prison on May 3

MOSCOW, June 8. /TASS/. Russia is grateful to Belarus for its decision to pardon Russian national Sofia Sapega, it is in tune with the fraternal nature of relations between the two countries, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday.

"We had a positive reaction and, naturally, we are thankful to our Belarusian friends for their decision. Undoubtedly, such a decision utterly and completely reflects the fraternal, friendly and allied nature of [our] ties," the Kremlin official said replying to a question as to how the Kremlin perceived this decision by the Belarusian side.

Earlier, Primorsky Region Governor Oleg Kozhemyako reported that Sapega was pardoned by the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko after a meeting with a delegation from that Russian region.

Sapega was detained in Minsk on May 23, 2021, along with Roman Protasevich, a member of the Nexta organization, which has been designated as a terrorist organization in Belarus. The pair were charged, among other things, with organizing activities that violated public order and inciting social hatred. Sapega was accused of being the editor of the Black Book of Belarus channel (deemed as extremist in Belarus), which posts personal information about Belarusian internal affairs officers. In May of 2022, the Grodno Regional Court sentenced Sapega to six years in prison.

The Minsk Regional Court sentenced Protasevich to eight years in prison on May 3. Later, the Belarusian president decreed to pardon him.

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