Russian woman Sofya Sapega, convicted in Belarus on charges of inciting hatred, was denied pardon. On Tuesday, January 10, her stepfather Sergei Dudich told RIA Novosti.
“The commission (for pardons under the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. – Ed.) Considered the petition and refused,” he said.
According to Dudic, the response from the commission came on January 2. Sapieha informed the family about the decision in a letter.
The lawyer of the Russian woman, Anton Gashinsky, also confirmed to RIA Novosti that the commission’s decision was negative.
“We will ask her to be transferred to Russia to serve her sentence,” he added.
A 24-year-old Russian woman was sentenced to six years in a penal colony on May 6, 2022.
On June 3, Lukashenka announced the possibility of transferring Sapega to the Russian Federation, emphasizing that he felt sorry for her. Later, on June 16, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Moscow allowed her transfer to serve her sentence in Russia. As noted in the department, in the event of moving to one of the Russian penitentiary institutions after a certain period, Sapieha will be able to apply for parole.
Later, on June 27, it became known that Sapieha asked the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko for a pardon. Then Gashinsky admitted that the chances of pardoning Sapieha are quite high.
The trial of Sapieha began on March 28 this year. She and the ex-editor of the NEXTA Telegram channel (recognized as extremist in Belarus) Roman Protasevich were detained on May 23, 2021. In the context of the protests that took place in the country after the presidential elections in August 2020, the Russian woman is charged with running the Black Book of Belarus Telegram channel (recognized as extremist in the republic), where personal data of law enforcement officers were published.
