Belarusian opposition leader believes blogger Protasevich has been tortured

Belarus’s leading opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on Monday that detained blogger Roman Protasevich had been beaten and tortured in jail.

A lawyer who visited Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega said he was fine, “but it’s doubtful, because for sure he was tortured, for sure he was beaten”, she told reporters at a news conference in Tallinn.

Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega were detained on May 23 after their plane was forced to land in Minsk.

Tsikhanouskaya offered no evidence for her assertion, though Protasevich’s family has also said a video of him from detention showed signs of torture.

Belarus denies abusing detainees.

Reuters