The EU Will Impose Sanctions on Belarus

BIANNA GOLODRYGA: I understand that you spoke with Roman’s father about all of this. Can you tell us what he said?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, we spoke to him just before the video of Roman Protasevich had appeared, that video that looked like it was done under duress that appeared on state media platforms across Belarus. But even before he appeared, his father, Dmitry, spoke to me about how concerned he was about the welfare of his son, given what he knows about how prisoners like Roman in Belarus are treated by the security services when they’re seen as an enemy of the state, as Roman himself is by the regime in Belarus. Take a listen.

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CHANCE (voice-over): This is why the Belarusian authorities see this dissident journalist as such a threat. A social media channel founded by Roman Protasevich, who is just 26, was instrumental in organizing these mass protests against flawed presidential elections last year and, of course, in exposing the brutal tactics used by Belarusian police to crack down, tactics his father, who spoke to CNN from exile in Poland, says he fears will now be used on his son.

DMITRY PROTASEVICH, FATHER OF ROMAN PROTASEVICH (through translator): We are very worried, as we expect torture and physical abuse, although we hope that that won’t happen. But knowing the KGB methods, we hope that he will be strong enough and have enough willpower to endure all that awaiting.

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CHANCE: All right, well, his father went on to say that he thought his son was so brave. He considered him to be his hero. But he was clearly very upset about what ordeal his son was confronting, an ordeal, remember, that thousands of people in Belarus have been subjected to over recent months, since the rigged presidential elections, or the elections that were seen by observers to be rigged, and the crackdown on mass protests in the country from people who oppose the election result.