Belarusian journalist whose plane was hijacked by Lukashenko regime in 2021 explains why he went on to cooperate with authorities
On October 14, Russian media personality Ksenia Sobchak published a new video interview with Roman Protasevich, the former head of the prominent Belarusian opposition Telegram channel Nexta. In 2021, Protasevich and his then-girlfriend, Russian citizen Sofia Sapega, were traveling from Athens to Vilnius on a Ryanair flight when the Belarusian authorities reported a false bomb threat, forcing the plane to land in Minsk, where they detained the couple. The incident exacerbated the already-worsening relations between Belarus and the European Union, leading the E.U. to ban its airlines from all travel through Belarusian airspace. Protasevich cooperated with Belarusian state investigators and was ultimately pardoned, as was Sapega. Sobchak’s conversation with Protasevich, which also included Belarusian propagandist Ryhor Azaronak, took place in Minsk and lasted more than two hours. Meduza shares the main takeaways from the interview.
On cooperating with investigators
Asked about why he chose to cooperate with Belarusian state investigators after leading the country’s largest opposition outlet during the 2020 anti-Lukashenko protests, Protasevich took issue with the notion that political prisoners should be expected to refuse to compromise with the authorities.
“All of these ideas that people should heroically resist, tell everyone to go to hell, stay silent in interrogations like a guerrilla fighter — the people promoting that idea most actively are those who were afraid to even face [15-day] administrative arrests, who fled the country,” he said.
Protasevich contrasted this with his own situation, telling Sobchak that he was facing a potential 25-year sentence. He described what he envisioned happening if he refused to cooperate with the authorities: “I would’ve gotten my minute of glory from […] the opposition media, who would say, ‘Look what a hero he is!’ I would’ve been named a political prisoner and had some alley in a mid-sized European city named after me. And then what?”
On his decision to stay in Belarus
For over a year after his release from prison, Protasevich said, he planned to leave Belarus and was simply waiting for the chance. Over time, however, he started questioning this strategy.
“I had some good offers [abroad], and they’re still there, but [eventually I started thinking,] ‘And then what? What’s the plan after that?’ My whole life I’ve been a journalist, not a politician,” he said, evidently assuming a political career in exile would be the only feasible option for him if he moved to the West.
Protasevich also suggested he may simply be tired of thinking about the fate of Belarus after his traumatic arrest and prison experience. “Another big question is whether I really want to return to all of this, especially after going through the very epicenter, through the meat grinder itself,” he explained.
Some people believe that if a person falls into the meat grinder, he should tell everyone to go to hell, refuse to cooperate, and make sacrifices. […] Because that’s what we hear from people who, through some very strange irony, have fled all of this, but who meanwhile promote the image that every person who goes to prison due to political events should necessarily choose to suffer and be a hero.
On becoming a welder
Protasevich said he spent a long time looking for an IT job after his release from prison but that he was repeatedly turned down “due to the reputational risks,” even by employers that had actively reached out to him for an interview. “So I did some research and realized that probably the best thing in the labor market right now would be welding,” he told Sobchak. “First of all, it’s in high demand, and second of all, the salary isn’t bad, even when you’re first starting out.”
On allegations that he turned in other opposition members
Protasevich said that while most of the online criticism he’s faced for cooperating with investigators hasn’t gotten to him, it does upset him when people claim he gave testimony that helped the authorities imprison others.
“I always ask these people one simple question: tell me the names of the individuals who went to prison because of me,” he said.
Nonetheless, the former journalist admitted to testifying against some people, but he maintained that his statements didn’t lead to any new arrests. “A lot of people don’t understand that yes, it’s true, I testified against people, but these were people who were abroad or already behind bars,” he said.
On Sofia Sapega
Saying he couldn’t reveal the details, Protasevich explained that he entered into a deal with Belarusian investigators that allowed for the release of Russian citizen Sofia Sapega, his one-time partner with whom he was arrested.
“I have great respect for people who choose their path and stick to it until the end, [but] I saw no sense in refusing to cooperate and making myself into a martyr,” he said. “I realized that if anyone was capable of pulling me out of this very bad situation, it was only me. And moreover, not just pulling myself out but also a second person, [Sapega].”