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Blogger Protasevich says he was mediator between conspirators, Tikhanovskaya’s HQ

He admitted that he was present during the talks of the conspirators on Zoom but his face was blocked by a black square and a caption was absent

MINSK, June 3. /TASS/. Belarusian opposition blogger Roman Protasevich has stated that he served as a mediator between conspirators who were planning a coup in Belarus and the headquarters of the former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.

He admitted that he was present during the talks of the conspirators on Zoom but his face was blocked by a black square and a caption was absent. "That was me. That black square without a caption, for instance, at the very first conference [with the conspirators on Zoom] - that was me. I will explain what this was related to. This was related to the fact that I was supposed to act as a liaison between the conspirators and Tikhanovskaya’s headquarters," he told the ONT TV channel on Thursday.

On April 17, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stated that opposition activist Grigory Kostusev, political scientist Alexander Feduta and lawyer Yuri Zenkovich were plotting to assassinate him and his sons as well as planning to carry out a coup. He also noted that US intelligence and leadership were behind the conspiracy.

According to the Belarusian investigation, the coup preparations were financed from abroad, the conspirators were in close contact with terrorist formations. The criminal case was opened under an article on conspiracy aiming to take over state power. Nine individuals were charged with preparing a coup d’etat in Belarus. The KGB reported that the detainees were confessing and cooperating with the investigation.