Belarusian authorities have shared more information about the arrest of Roman Protasevich and the charges he is facing.
According to the Russian News Agency TASS:
UNITED NATIONS, May 28. /TASS/. Roman Protasevich, who was taken into custody in Minsk, was a member of Ukraine’s Azov Battalion, a known neo-Nazi regiment, which is why he was put on an international wanted list, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said on Friday.
When asked if Russia would seek Protasevich’s release, Polyansky said: “Mr. Protasevich indeed was a blogger but before becoming one, he had been a combatant in Ukraine and fought in the ranks of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, together with neo-Nazi and far-right groups.” “I think this is why the Belarusian authorities requested an international arrest warrant for him,” he specified.
In my previous article about Protasevich I stated his arrest pertained to his activities in the riots following the Belarusian election last year. Honestly, I’m a little surprised that the focus will instead be on his involvement with the Neo-Nazi Azov battalion. This could be for any number of reasons that go beyond a full list of what Protasevich actually is or isn’t guilty of. Serving as a combatant in a terrorist organization is far more sensational, and probably easier to justify to foreign and internal audiences. Proving his criminal culpability in Azov activities might be easier to prove than the incitement of violence and civil unrest as a blogger. I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.
Ian Kummer
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