DISINFO: Handcuff marks are not signs of torture of Pratasevich, a fighter of the brutal neo-Nazi battalion
SUMMARY
It is easier to say in advance that the statements [of Raman Pratasevich] are a result of pressure – there are even claims alleging that the handcuffs marks on his wrists are traces of "torture". For sure, the handcuff marks are not torture that could have forced a former fighter of the brutal neo-Nazi battalion "Azov" to repent. Pratasevich clearly understood that he was at the dead end. In this situation, he made a choice, which the Polish political class does not understand, or he may simply be afraid of the consequences of this choice [to start talking].
RESPONSE
Disinformation targeting Belarusian dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich.
According to multiple testimonies from R. Pratasevich's family, and the Belarusian opposition, his behaviour during the interview showed clear signs of duress during the detention. An earlier report of Amnesty International detailed how the Belarusian authorities have weaponized the justice system to punish victims of torture rather than perpetrators, as part of a widespread and brutal crackdown on dissent in the wake of post-election protests. In April, 2021 the UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet urged the Belarusian government to release all people unlawfully arrested in post-election protests and investigate some 2,000 complaints of torture or ill-treatment in custody.
Raman Pratasevich is a co-founder of the opposition Nexta channel on Telegram, which played an important role in providing information and broadcasting huge opposition protests against the incumbent Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka in 2020.
Pratasevich fled Belarus for Poland in 2019 due to pressure from the authorities. He later relocated to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, where Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is also based.
There is no substantial evidence to suggest that Mr Protasevich ever participated in the military activity of the Azov battalion. Pratasevich himself said in an interview with a Russian journalist in 2020 that he had been in the war zone in Eastern Ukraine as a freelance journalist. This was further confirmed by Andriy Biletskyy, former commander of Azov. He said Pratasevich had been present in the Donbas warzone, but his activity there was limited to covering the course of the conflict as a journalist. See further investigation by an independent outlet Meduza.
Roman Pratasevich was detained in Minsk airport when flying from Athens to Vilnius. On Sunday, 23 May, 2021, the Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was forced to turn back before crossing the Lithuanian border and land in the Belarusian capital. The pretext for landing in Minsk was a false report about a bomb on board. At the moment when the plane changed course, it was closer to Vilnius airport than to Minsk. The plane was forced by a Belarusian military aircraft to land in Minsk. Raman Pratasevich was detained during a repeated security check of passengers.
The EU condemned Belarusian action against civil plane and the detention of Pratasevich. In a declaration on behalf of the EU on the forced diversion of Ryanair flight FR4978 to Minsk on 23 May 2021, the High Representative called for the immediate release of Mr Pratasevich. This was followed by a European Council statement, in which the EU leaders called for targeted individual and economic sanctions as well as to ban overflight of EU airspace by Belarusian airlines and prevent access to EU airports of flights operated by these. On 4 June 2021, the European Council introduced a ban on the overflight of EU airspace and on access to EU airports by Belarusian carriers of all kinds.
For more stories on Raman Pratasevich and his detainment after the forced landing of the Ryanair flight 4978 in Minsk see here.