Do you remember Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega? You should

Remember Roman Protasevich? How about Sofia Sapega?

Almost exactly a year ago, on 23 May 2021, the couple were the targets of an incredible state hijack of a Ryanair passenger plane when Belarus jet fighters intercepted a flight from Athens to Vilnius, Lithuania.

Authorities in Belarus lied and claimed there was a bomb on board, subsequently forcing the aircraft to land in Minsk. Protasevich, a vehement and brave critic of Belarusian dinosaur dictator Alexander Lukashenko, quickly twigged what was going on and claimed he would get the death penalty after the plane landed. Both were quickly arrested.

The incident was so breathtaking in its audacity that it seemed unbelievable. It showed off the vindictive nature of Lukashenko, important skills for a tyrant no doubt, but there was also a very human side to the story.

Protasevich and Sapega, a Russian, both in their twenties, were forced to live abroad for the “crime” of opposing Lukashenko and suddenly faced the prospect of having much of their young lives taken from them. In a foretaste of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Lukashenko’s actions showed what can happen to international norms when the power and whims of one ego go unchecked for years. And if you are going to ban most citizens from leaving your country, like Lukashenko has, then crushing two more lives is no big deal.

Last week, as the anniversary of their capture approached, Sapega was jailed for six years for “inciting social enmity and discord”. Her lawyer has appealed – to of all people, Vladimir Putin – for help, putting Russia in the amusingly uncomfortable position of having to question another country’s legal position when it blanches at international criticism of its own.

For Protasevich, it is not clear what is happening, though one can only imagine it’s not good. The blogger has not been seen since appearing in excruciating videos where he “confessed” to organising protests against Lukashenko after the dictator won a dubious sixth term in office in 2020 elections many see as stolen.

A Twitter account set up in Protasevich’s name last July has stopped posting messages, and he was last able to contact his parents, who had previously fled to Poland, in October. Their imprisonment is entirely political and their fate may ultimately be decided by events over Belarus’s border with Ukraine.

A year on though, neither Roman Protasevich nor Sofia Sapega deserves to be forgotten.

Yours,

David Harding

International editor