MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. Belarusian court documents on the verdict to Russian national Sofia Sapega have been sent to Moscow’s Presnensky District Court in order to launch the procedure of her extradition, Russian Minister of Justice Konstantin Chuychenko said in an interview with TASS.

"The issue of extraditing convicted Sofia Sapega has been considered by the Russian Ministry of Justice since the end of January due to an appeal by her relative. The documents on handing convicted Sapega over to Russia were sent by the Russian Ministry of Justice to the Federal Penitentiary Service in order to make a submission to a Russian court on the recognition and execution of the Belarusian court verdict in the Russian Federation," he said.

According to the official, "last week, the submission and documents on transferring Sofia Sapega were handed by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service over to Moscow’s Presnensky Court." "Then, the court order on this matter will be sent to a relevant body of the Republic of Belarus in order to make the final decision with regard to extraditing the convicted," he noted.

Chuychenko reiterated that the extradition of those convicted is being implemented between Russia and Belarus based on the 1998 convention on extradition order. According to Russia’s Criminal Procedure Code, a decision on the extradition of a convicted individual to serve the sentence in the country of citizenship is made in court.

Sapega was detained at Minsk Airport on May 23, 2021 together with Roman Protasevich, one of the founders of Nexta - a Telegram channel recognized as extremist in Belarus. Later, the court found her guilty of intentional acts committed by a group of persons with the aim of inciting social hatred and discord resulting in grave consequences, as well as of illegal collection and distribution of personal data. Last May, Sapega was sentenced to six years in prison.