Kremlin on Russian woman’s failed pardon in Minsk: every effort has been made

January 31, BPN. Russia has put in all possible efforts to help its jailed national Sofya Sapega (Safija Sapieha) obtain a pardon in Belarus, a spokesman for Vladimir Putin said on January 31.

These efforts failed because “it is about a sovereign state with its own laws,” Dmitry Peskov told Russian privately-owned newspaper Kommersant.

“Every possible effort has been made,” he said. “We will continue to monitor how the Russian national’s rights are respected.”

Sapega and journalist Raman Pratasievič were arrested at a Minsk airport on May 23, 2021 after Belarusian authorities had forced their flight to land, causing an international spat involving Irish carrier Ryanair.

In May 2022, the Hrodna Regional Court sentenced Sapega to six years in prison. It found the dissident guilty of incitement to hatred and illegal dissemination of personal details. Human rights defenders said her persecution was politically motivated.

She did not appeal the verdict and asked Alaksandr Łukašenka for a pardon.

On June 3, Łukašenka said it would be possible to send her to Russia.

“We have a practice that we can hand over a Russian national to Russia. Let her serve her sentence there. Or let them do whatever they want,” he said. “I think it is a big lesson for her.”

On January 10, media reported that the Belarusian ruler rejected the request for pardon. On January 31, a deputy head of his administration, head of the commission on pardons Volha Čuprys said the rejection was “based on law,” without elaborating.