Natalia Protasevich, the mother of detained journalist and activist Roman Protasevich, tearfully told her son to "stay strong" and that she and his father Dzmitry would help get him released while at a news conference on Thursday (May 27) in Warsaw.
"I want you to hear my scream, the scream of my soul, see my tears, understand how hard it is for us, how hard it is to comprehend this absurd situation" - the mother of arrested Belarusian journalist and activist Roman Protasevich said at a press conference on Thursday.
"Stay strong son, stay strong, we love you and we will get you out" - Roman Protasevich's mother said.
Natalia Protasevich explained how she and her husband had fled Belarus in August last year due to fears of being used to put pressure on their exiled son by the Belarus authorities.
"On August 17, 2020 we had to leave the country... we had to leave the country. We took this difficult decision because, first of all, we thought they could use us to hurt our son. The state could use us to put pressure on our son" - she explained.
"We were also getting direct threats. We noticed many times people watching the entrance to our apartment block, I heard strange sounds on the phone while I was using it. I am not an expert; I cannot say 100% it was what it seemed to me to be" - Natalia Protasevich added.
Roman Protasevich, who did his first journalism aged 16, fled to Poland from Belarus in 2019 after feeling the heat from the authorities and ensured his parents relocated later too.
He moved to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, in September, which has become a hub for the Belarusian opposition.
In Warsaw on Wednesday (May 26) activists from Belarus demonstrated outside the European Union's office in the Polish capital calling for harsher economic sanctions against President Lukashenko's government.
"The sanctions should be tougher, economic sanctions. Even the ones that have already been announced have not come into effect. Until they come into effect, until there is action, not just pretty words, we will stand here and we will scream" - Belarusian activist and author of "One Minute Scream" initiative Jana Shostak said.
"Me and my friend Bazena have begun a hunger strike outside of the European Union representative office. We demand sanctions against Lukashenko regime be introduced and we do not just want any sanctions, we want tough economic sanctions" - said Belarusian activist Stanislava Glinnik.
Belarus has faced a wave of criticism from the EU and the U.S. after forcing a civilian plane to land and arrest Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega. Belarusian officials say that the plane was diverted after a reported bomb threat.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: TVN24