Christian Advocacy Now

In a move the surprised and outraged the international community, Belarus forced a Ryanair flight headed to Athens to land in Minsk—accompanied by a fighter jet—all in an effort to detain human right activist Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega. There is great fear that Raman has been mistreated in detention after appearing with visible injuries on his face on national television to “confess”--though he has committed no crime recognized by the international community. He faces up to 20 years in prison, and there is a belief that Sofia Sapega is being held in order to put pressure on Raman. Write to the Prosecutor General of Belarus today to add your voice to the outcry against this brazen oppression. Call for the immediate and unconditional release of Raman Pratasevich and Sophia Sapega.

Write to:

Prosecutor General Shved Andrey Ivanovich
Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Belarus
International Legal Department
Internatsionalnaya str, 22, Minsk, Belarus, 220030

Suggested points:

• Call for the immediate and unconditional release of Raman Pratasevich and Sophia Sapega.
• Indicate that there is no evidence that either has committed an internationally recognized criminal offense and that it is clear their detention is a result of Pratasevich’s journalistic work covering post-election protests.
• Express your outrage that the Belarus government would use a fake bomb threat to carry out this illegal detention, a move that put the lives of all the passengers on the plane at risk.
• Indicate that numerous international organizations have documented the widespread human rights abuses, torture, and arbitrary detention perpetrated by the government.
• Express your understanding that the “confession” given by Raman Pratasevich was undoubtedly extracted by coercion—especially using the safety of Sophia Sapega as pressure—and that no one is fooled by this.
• Indicate that the world is watching.