Sofya Sapega’s lawyer says she “hopes for pardon”

October 26, BPN. Convicted Russian national Sofya Sapega (Safija Sapieha) hopes for a pardon, her lawyer Anton Hašynski told BPN, citing her parents.

Sapega’s case is currently under consideration at the presidential commission on pardons but it remains unclear when it will make a decision.

Police arrested Sapega and opposition blogger Raman Pratasievič at Minsk airport in May 2021 following the forced landing of the Ryanair flight en route from Athens to Vilnius.

In May 2022, the Hrodna Regional Court sentenced Sapega to six years in prison for administering the opposition Telegram channel Chernaya Kniga Belarusi (Black Book of Belarus), an online project exposing the identities of security officers. She did not appeal the verdict and asked Alaksandr Łukašenka for a pardon.