Fears grow, detained Belarusian journalist subject to torture

Fears grew on Tuesday that the Belarusian dissident journalist Roman Protasevich, who was detained in Minsk after his plane was forcibly rerouted, has been subject to torture while in custody.   

Natalia Protasevich, the mother of the journalist, said there was clear evidence that her son had been subject to violence, referring to footage released a day earlier from the Minsk pre-trial detention centre where he is being held.   

He was arrested on Sunday after Belarusian authorities alerted the crew of his Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius of a possible security threat and directed it to land at an airport near Minsk.   

President Alexander Lukashenko also ordered a MiG-29 fighter jet to be scrambled to accompany the plane, according to the state news agency.   

Authorities in Minsk then detained Protasevich and his girlfriend, who was also on board.    “I am not a surgeon, but it is certain that they hit his nose and may have broken it,” Protasevich’s mother said of the video that was circulated by the authorities.    She also said her son’s left cheek was swollen and sagging. “Even under the make-up, you can see a yellowish tinge - probably bruises were covered with powder.”   

She said she also saw signs of strangulation on the neck of her son. “From the looks of it, they choked him to beat evidence out of him.”
Moscow (dpa) 27 May 2021