Belarusian activist and director Andrej Gnjot, who was released from house arrest in Serbia a few days ago, where he was awaiting a decision on extradition to Belarus, and is now in Germany, said that the citizens of Belarus have been fighting for justice and freedom since the beginning of the reign of the current president, Alexander Lukashenko. .
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Gnjot said at an online press conference that the higher courts in Serbia were always on "his side" but that the Basic Court always returned him to custody.
"The Court of Appeal always ruled in my favor, and was objective and fair. That's why I think that the government in Serbia has to deal with the judicial system and the way basic courts work," said Gnjot.
He pointed out that Serbia is a European country and that it deserves to be part of the "European family".
"We in Belarus have been fighting for justice and freedom since the beginning of Lukashenko's rule, and it is a struggle of the people. I was sustained by the understanding of what we are fighting for," said Gnjot.
He said that he was accused of tax evasion in Belarus and that there are many people who have been accused and imprisoned for the same thing for participating in the demonstrations after the 2020 election theft.
When asked if someone "arranged his release with the authorities in Serbia", Gnjot said that, in addition to the diplomats from the West, the team of Svetlana Tihanovska, Lukashenko's opponent in 2020, who is also in exile, had a big contribution.
"Diplomats from the EU, USA and Canada asked the authorities in Serbia for my release, but an important event happened when Svetlana Tihanovska's international team contacted Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and asked for my release, and the office of President Vučić expressed sympathy for my case." Gnjot reported.
He also expressed his condolences to the citizens of Serbia for the accident that happened yesterday in Novi Sad when the canopy of the Railway Station collapsed, killing 14 people.
In October 2023, Gnjot was arrested at the airport in Belgrade, based on an Interpol warrant issued for him by Belarus, which has since been canceled.
He is now in Berlin, since his house arrest was lifted two days ago, and that's when he left Serbia.
He spent seven months in the Belgrade Central Prison, and from June 5 until today he was under house arrest.
The Court of Appeal in Belgrade announced last month that it had annulled the decision of the High Court on the extradition of Gnjot to Belarus and that it had sent the case back for a new decision.
Minsk accuses Gnjot of tax evasion, while he describes those accusations as false and claims that it is a "systemic mechanism of prosecution" of opponents of Alexander Lukashenko's regime.
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