For the first time, President Alexander Lukashenko spoke about the former editor's work for the special services.
The head of the Belarusian KGB, Ivan Tertel, confirmed that the former editor-in-chief of the Telegram channel Nexta, Roman Protasevich, is an employee of the Belarusian foreign intelligence and in 2020 he provided the agency with information about the opposition's plans. This was reported by BelTA.
According to the chairman of the State Security Committee of Belarus, possible directions of movement were discussed during meetings dedicated to the coup in the country. The names of those responsible for planning and other aspects were also mentioned.
"Who was involved in this planning, who acted as scouts here in various locations," Tertel clarified.
He added that actions for clashes with police officers were planned during the meetings. The infliction of damage to certain economic facilities was also discussed.
The head of the KGB noted that a "significant percentage" of the information obtained was derived from Protasevich. This allowed the security forces to act "quite confidently," as they had an understanding of the development of the situation.
In addition, Tertel described the former editor's work as tracking the dynamics of the creation of "subversive centers" and their sources of funding. Among the latter, the chairman of the KGB mentioned a former Prime Minister of Poland. Thanks to Protasevich, the number of employees of the "Warsaw office" was also established, which, as the head of the agency stated, is currently being unsuccessfully developed by certain "cultural figures."
For the first time, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko spoke about the former editor's work for the Belarusian special services. This occurred against the backdrop of discussions about Lithuania's threats to close the border with the republic due to allegedly smuggled cigarettes transported by weather balloons. The Belarusian leader compared the threats made to the sanctions imposed by the West against Belarus after Protasevich's detention in May 2021. At that time, the country's authorities urgently landed a Ryanair plane in Minsk.
After Protasevich's arrest, it became known about his decision to cooperate with the investigation, and the journalist publicly stated his awareness of the damage caused to the state and his desire to compensate for it. In 2023, a court sentenced Protasevich to eight years in prison as a participant in a conspiracy to seize power. Later, Lukashenko signed a decree on clemency. The Belarusian leader justified this decision by stating that certain conditions were set before the journalist, which were fully met.
Many Belarusians first heard about Roman Protasevich in May 2021 after the forced landing of the Ryanair plane in Minsk. His girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, was also on board at that time.
Roman Protasevich, along with Yan Rudik and Stepan Putilo, was involved in the NEXTA case (the Telegram channel is recognized as extremist in Belarus, and as of April 8, 2022, the Supreme Court recognized the extremist formation NEXTA, along with its structural divisions NEXTA Live and LUXTA, as a terrorist organization).
Charges were brought against him under more than 10 extremist articles, including for public calls to overthrow the government.
Throughout the investigation, Roman was under house arrest, and he was only allowed to go to the office – he worked at the "Systemic Human Rights Protection" center. After his release, he worked as a welder at a factory in Minsk.
