Khalip to be freed after Lukashenka's interview published in Independent?
Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief apologizes to Lukashenka. Spokesman for Presidential Administration Pavel Lyohki and Dzmitry Muratau himself explain why.
Dzmitry Muratau: "I thought and editors thought we were too quick with our conclusions. The people who work in the Belarusian state apparatus explained to us that we wanted too much and too soon. That there should be a certain law so that it is done as promised. This can’t happen in 2 or 3 days. They told we could harm Khalip if we demand everything immediately. I told Khalip I would send a letter apologizing for hasty judgment. We are going to wait now”.
Editor- in- chief of Novaya Gazeta Dzmitry Muratau wrote a letter to Alyaksandr Lukashenka. In it, he apologized for jumping to conclusions that Lukashenka’s promise to release Irina Khalip was not fulfilled.
Euroradio addressed to Spokesman for the Presidential Administration Pavel Lyohki for a comment. Why does the Novaya Gazeta Editor apologize? Did Alyaksandr Lukashenka promise to release Iryna Khalip indeed?
Pavel Lyohki: "I am bound by certain obligations, which I, as the head of the press service, must fulfill. I have an agreement with the Independent. I will not comment on the situation. All I said was that the President gave no interviews to Oliver. As for your question, I will wait for the publication of the interview in the Independent, and on the basis of this publication I may say something. "
Pavel Lyohki confirmed that Alyaksandr Lukashenka did give an interview to The Independent and the BBC on October 9. This indirectly indicates that the video with the words of Alyaksandr Lukashenka, distributed in the Internet, is real: