From DW. Here is an extract:

Raman Pratasevich, the opposition journalist who was arrested after his Ryanair flight was forced to land in Belarus almost two years ago, was sentenced to eight years in prison on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old was arrested in May 2021 after the plane he was on — flying from Greece to Lithuania — was told to land in Minsk as it flew over Belarus, Pratasevich’s home country. The incident sparked international outrage.

He was charged with over 1,500 crimes including organizing unrest and plotting to seize power. The blogger had maintained a Telegram channel, Nexta, that was used to organize the large-scale protests that broke out after the August 2020 elections that were widely condemned as fraudulent.

Read the full article here.