Belarus releases jailed journalist taken off Ryanair flight to house arrest

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

A dissident Belarusian journalist who was grabbed off a Ryanair flight forced to land in Minsk has been released under house arrest a few weeks after he publicly repented for his “crimes” on state TV and in front of reporters.

The forced landing of the Athens-Vilnius flight has triggered harsh Western sanctions against the regime of Alexander Lukashenko who was re-elected president last year amid unprecedented anti-government protests.

Roman Protasevich, former editor-in-chief of the opposition mouthpiece Nexta living in exile in Lithuania, was arrested alongside his girlfriend last month after Belarusian authorities forced the plane to land, citing a bomb threat.

Nexta, the channel on the messaging app Telegram that Mr Protasevich co-founded and edited until last September, emerged as a crucial tool helping opposition activists to coordinate last year’s nationwide protests in Belarus following Mr Lukashenko’s dubious win and staggering police violence.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/belarus-releases-jailed-journalist-taken-075621870.html

[chia]

1. I didn't have any hope he'd make it out alive.

I hope he's well protected from this point on.