LUHANSK. June 11 (Interfax) - The self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) believes that Roman Protasevich, the founder of the Nexta Telegram channel, branded as extremist in Belarus, who is suspected by Luhansk detectives of fighting in Donbas on the side of the Ukrainian nationalist battalion Azov, might stand trial in the territory of the LPR.
"I believe that this [Protasevich being tried in the LPR] is quite possible, but that would require thorough preparations," LPR representative to the political working group of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine Rodion Miroshnik said on the Rossiya 24 television channel (VGTRK) on Friday.
"Investigative procedures need to be completed before a full package of documents is prepared and it becomes possible to discuss [...] how exactly this person who has committed crimes can be brought to justice here," Miroshnik said.
"For our part, our law enforcement agencies have set up an investigative team that is conducting the relevant proceedings, and relevant documents have been submitted directly to the law enforcement authorities, investigative agencies of Belarus," Miroshnik said.
The LPR Prosecutor General's Office asked the Belarusian law enforcement authorities on June 1 to carry out investigative procedures with Protasevich to verify his involvement in the hostilities in Donbas on the side of the Ukrainian nationalist battalion Azov.
"A criminal inquiry has established Protasevich's involvement in attacks on the civilian population of Donbas and the destruction of elements of civil infrastructure. Therefore, the LPR Prosecutor General's Office requests the chance to conduct investigative procedures with the participation of suspect Protasevich in LPR territory," Inna Semyonova from the LPR Prosecutor General's Office told reporters.
On May 27, the LPR Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case against Protasevich on counts of participating in the Donbas hostilities as a serviceman of the Azov Ukrainian nationalist battalion.
According to investigators, Protasevich voluntarily joined the Azov Ukrainian nationalist battalion in summer 2014 and, serving as a deputy signals commander of the 2nd assault company of the Azov battalion between summer 2014 and winter 2015, took part in the hostilities in Donbas together with the battalion.
Protasevich was detained in Belarus on May 23. He was traveling on a Ryanair flight en route from Athens to Vilnius that was prompted to land in Minsk by the Belarusian authorities upon receiving the report of a bomb threat, which proved false. A MiG-29 fighter jet was scrambled to escort the passenger jetliner.
Protasevich is an editor of the Telegram channel Belarus Golovnogo Mozga (Belarus of the Brain) and former editor of the Telegram channel Nexta, both designated as extremist in Belarus. His girlfriend Sofia Sapega, detained with him, is a Russian citizen and a student of the European Humanities University based in Vilnius.
In 2020, the Belarusian authorities included Nexta founders Stepan Putilo and Protasevich on a list of people participating in terrorist activities. Protasevich is a suspect in a mass riots case in Belarus. Mass protests began in Belarus following the presidential election that took place on August 9, 2020. The authorities declared the incumbent president, Alexander Lukashenko, the winner. The Belarusian opposition has refused to recognize the official results, accusing the authorities of rigging the election.
Protasevich said in one of his earlier interviews that he actually visited the Donbas conflict zone, but as a journalist.