G7 Ministers Want Belarus To Free Pratasevic, Who Fought in Ukraine with Nazi Azov Battalion

May 27, 2021 (EIRNS)—The foreign ministers of the G7 nations today issued a joint communiqué demanding “the immediate and unconditional release of Roman Pratasevic, as well as all other journalists and political prisoners held in Belarus.” So concerned are they over this matter, that they announced additional sanctions against Belarus if the authorities don’t promptly comply.

As we documented yesterday, Pratasevic has the profile of a long-term Western intelligence asset, deployed to different countries in the region as strategic needs require. Within that deployment, it is worth emphasizing his deep ties to the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion in Ukraine. Ivan Tertel, the head of the Belarus security agency, KGB, stated:

“Now he [Pratasevic] is giving testimony on the sponsors of subversive activity against Belarus, its mechanisms, the special services, politicians and organizations behind it. I promise that we will shortly reveal the details.” Tertel said that Pratasevic’s foreign patrons are really worried “about active cooperation with the investigation.”

Tertel went on:

“It is an indisputable fact that this individual fully fits into the definition of a terrorist, a militant-mercenary and a participant in bloody events in the ranks of the notorious Azov Battalion linked with outrages and the deaths of civilians in southeastern Ukraine. These are not only our and investigators’ data, these are also the facts reported in the media with Pratasevic’s personal confessions that are widely accessible,”

the KGB chief said. Pratasevic “actively used the experience” gained in Ukraine “against Belarus,” Tertel said. “He was an organizer and coordinator of mass riots that endangered the lives and health of ordinary citizens and law enforcers.”

RT reports that Pratasevic and his international support network are scrambling to cover for his Ukraine neo-Nazi activities, by claiming he was only there as a “journalist,” not a fighter. But it’s a fact, and Pratasevic proudly reports that he was wounded, and his father stated in an interview that “he fought.” Also, the first head of the Azov Battalion, writing on his Telegram channel on May 26, said Pratasevic “fought against the occupation of Ukraine together with Azov and other military units,” according to RT. In a Twitter exchange, British war journalist Jake Hanrahan affirmed that Pratasevic was directly involved in the conflict. However, he claimed it was not with the Azov Battalion but “with a Belarus unit that fought alongside Azov.... He joined a volunteer unit that chose to fight alongside Azov,” Hanrahan clarified. “He also shared many of their views as seen by the far-right iconography on the T-shirts he’s been pictured wearing.”