The mass demonstration was held near the Royal Castle in Poland’s capital,, with participants carrying Belarusian and Polish flags, chanting “free Belarus”.
Roman Protasevich’s parents, Natalia and Dmitry also took part in the event, calling on the Belarusian regime to free their son.
“I am calling on all the European Union countries, as well as the United States to help free Roman,” Natalia Protasevich was quoted by Poland’s PAP state news agency as saying.
Top Polish officials have condemned Belarus for intercepting a Ryanair aircraft carrying Roman Protasevich—an opposition-minded journalist critical of strongman Alexander Lukashenko’s regime—and forcing the flight to land in Minsk on May 23.
European Union leaders meeting in Brussels on Monday agreed to impose more sanctions on Belarus and called on airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace, while also authorizing work to ban Belarusian airlines from European skies and airports.
(tf)
Source: PAP