Alexander Lukashenko denied pardon to Sofia Sapieha

Alexander Lukashenko has rejected the request of Russian citizen Sofia Sapieha for pardon, the publication " Mediazona . Belarus" reports , citing the lawyer of the Sapieha family, Anton Gashinsky.

The lawyer told RBC that "we will now ask that she be sent to serve her sentence in the Russian Federation." According to him, Sapega herself or her parents can make such a request. The corresponding request will be submitted in the near future, the lawyer told TASS.

Anton Gashinsky noted that earlier Alexander Lukashenko was not against Sapieha being transferred to a Russian colony.

Sofia Sapieha's mother Anna Dudich told the BBC Russian Service that she learned of the Belarusian authorities' decision from a letter from her daughter. "We received a letter today, in which she says that she received a refusal on January 4," Dudich said.

In May 2022, Sapieha was sentenced to six years in prison under articles on inciting social hatred and illegal collection of personal data due to the fact that she administered the Telegram channel "Black Book of Belarus", which published the personal data of Belarusian security officials.

In June, Sapieha appealed to Lukashenko for a pardon, stating that she committed the crimes because of her “youth and stupidity,” having fallen under the influence of a “destructive group of people.” She also paid compensation for moral damages to Belarusian security officials, officials, and judges.

• Sofia Sapieha was detained in May 2021 along with the former editor-in-chief of the Nexta Telegram channel, Roman Protasevich. To do this, Belarusian security forces forced a Ryanair plane flying from Athens to Vilnius to make an emergency landing in Minsk.