MINSK, June 1. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to Belarus Yevgeny Lukyanov stated that Russia does not put pressure on the Belarusian government over the situation with detained Russian national Sofia Sapega.
"An investigation is underway, we are waiting for it to conclude and for the charges to be formulated on the outcomes of the investigative actions," the ambassador told reporters on Tuesday. "In this context, we put no pressure on the Belarusian government, we adhere to our obligations within the consular convention and we will continue to do that."
The diplomat pointed out that according to the information provided by Russian consuls and Sapega’s attorneys, she "is feeling well, the conditions of her detention are adequate, although it is clear that no one would be very happy to be at a detention center."
"We will see how the situation will develop soon, I think," the ambassador said.
On May 23, Sapega was apprehended at Minsk International Airport together with Roman Protasevich, one of the co-founders of the Nexta Telegram channel, which Minsk deems to be an extremist entity, after an emergency landing of a Ryanair flight. In a video uploaded to the Internet several days later, Sapega admitted that she served as an editor of the Black Book of Belarus Telegram channel which doxed Belarusian police officers. In April, this Telegram channel was declared to be an extremist entity by Gomel’s Zheleznodorozhny District Court.
Last week, Sapega was arrested for two months, she was sent to a KGB detention center. On May 30, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper, said that a Belarusian court would decide Sapega’s fate once the investigation of her case is completed.