Anonymous author who sent photos to Surapin wanted €40 for each

Editor of the Swedish edition The Local David Lands contacted Anton Surapin on July 5, the next day after the action. The journalist has told Euroradio what they talked about.

David Lands: I asked him about the photos of teddy bears and where he had got them. I found Anton's phone number on the website. We talked a bit. He said that it would be better to contact him by e-mail because it was difficult for him to speak English. But it seemed to me that he had a good command of English.

He replied to my e-mail. He wrote that he had received the photos from an anonymous person by e-mail. Moreover, he said that the e-mail [email protected] seemed suspicious to him. According to the text, the sender had photos where you could see a person waving to the plane flying so low that you could see the pilots inside. The anonymous person wanted to sell them and other photos without copyright for 40 euro each.

Euroradio: Were the photos published in The Local?

David Lands: I just took the photos from Anton's web page: Anton is in the first photo and teddy bears are in the second one. And I wrote: this guy has been detained in Belarus for publishing this picture. I do not think that Anton Surapin paid for the photos.

Euroradio: Did you talk to the pilots? Do you believe them?

David Lands: I have talked to them several times. I believe them. I was skeptical at first because it was impossible to check whether the story was true. The majority of people in Sweden were also skeptical about this flight. However, a video and many photos have appeared.

Фота: thelocal.se