The foreign ministers of the G7 nations today issued a joint communique demanding “the immediate and unconditional release of Raman Pratasevich, as well as all other journalists and political prisoners held in Belarus.” So concerned are they over this matter, that they announced additional sanctions against Belarus if the authorities don’t promptly comply.
As we documented in this space yesterday, Pratasevich has the profile of a long-standing western intelligence asset, deployed to different countries in the region as strategic needs require. Within that deployment, it is worth emphasizing his long-standing deep ties to the neo-Nazi Azov battalion in Ukraine. Ivan Tertel, the head of the Belorus security agency (still called the KGB), stated: “Now he [Pratasevich] is giving testimony on the sponsors of subversive activity against Belarus, its mechanisms, the special services, politicians and organizations behind it. I promise that we will shortly reveal the details.” Tertel said that Pratasevich’s foreign patrons are really worried “about active cooperation with the investigation.”