Sofia Sapega, partner of the opposition Protasevich, enters a prison in Belarus

Moscow and Minsk open the door to a possible extradition of the young woman

MADRID, 7 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Russian citizen Sofia Sapega, a partner of the Belarusian opponent Roman Protasevich, has entered a prison in the city of Gomel, in southeastern Belarus, on Tuesday, according to the Vesna Human Rights organization.

Sapega was sentenced in early May to six years in prison after being found guilty of "inciting hatred and discord for ideological reasons" and "illegally disseminating information about the private life of another person without their consent and having undermined the freedom and the legitimate interests of the victims in question".

The young woman was arrested along with Protasevich at a passenger document control of an Irish airline Ryanair plane that had made an emergency landing due to an alleged bomb threat. The plane covered the distance between Athens and Vilnius.

Subsequently, she was accused of having committed up to seven crimes, including threats against a public employee, after she confessed to having collaborated with a Telegram channel considered "extremist" by the Belarusian government. The platform disseminated personal information about police officers.

The Prosecutor's Office, however, has indicated that Sapega complied with its obligations within the framework of the cooperation agreement signed with the prosecutors, as reported by the Interfax news agency.

For his part, the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has indicated that he is weighing the possibility of extraditing her to Russia. "It's a shame for her. We have to resolve this matter. She is Russian. We can transfer her there and have her serve her sentence in Russia," he said.

On Monday, the Kremlin said Russia and Belarus could discuss Sapega's extradition to Moscow. In this sense, the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dimitri Peskov, has indicated that the leaders of both countries could talk about the issue "if they consider it necessary", before adding that both maintain contacts "on a regular basis".