Roman Protasevich: Belarusian opposition journalist appears in new video after plane ‘hijack’ arrest

Journalist claims he is in good health but opposition leader fears he is facing torture

The Belarusian opposition journalist who was arrested after a Ryanair plane he was travelling on was forced to land in Minsk has appeared in a new video.

Roman Protasevich was travelling on a flight from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania, when the plane was diverted to the Belarusian capital on the orders of authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko.

The 26-year-old is known in Belarus for co-founding the opposition Nexta channel on the messaging app Telegram, which was used to mobilise street protests against the country’s government.

In a video released on Monday, Mr Protasevich claimed he was in good health and was being treated well - although some commentators warned that the clip appeared to be similar to a hostage video.

“Yesterday, I was arrested by officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the national airport in Minsk,” the journalist said.

“I am in Detention Center No 1 in Minsk. I can say that I have no health problems, including with my heart or any other organs.”

He added: “The attitude of employees towards me is as correct as possible and according to the law.

“I continue cooperating with investigators and am confessing to having organised mass unrest in the city of Minsk.”

The footage came after the country’s opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanouskaya warned there was a “high probability” that Mr Protasevich was being tortured by Belarusian authorities.

Ms Tikhanouskaya, who fled the country last summer, told a press conference: “We are really afraid not only for his freedom, but for his life.

“We do not know where he is and in what condition. There is a high probability that at this very moment he is being tortured by the secret service staff.”

Mr Protasevich’s arrest has sparked widespread criticism across Europe, with EU leaders agreeing to a new set of sanctions against Belarus late on Monday.

The measures will include a ban on the use of the 27-nation bloc’s airspace and airports for what leaders have called a brazen “hijacking” of the Ryanair plane.

EU members have also called for Mr Protasevich’s immediate release and an urgent investigation from the International Civil Aviation Organisation into the incident.

Additional reporting by AP