The father of the dissident journalist Roman Protasevich, who was detained in Belarus after his plane was forced to land there, said he believed his son was forced in a video posted online to admit guilt and appeared to have a broken nose. 'I think he was forced. It's not his words, it's not his intonation of speech,’, Dzmitry Protasevich said over Skype from Poland.

Subscribe to Guardian News on YouTube ► http://bit.ly/guardianwiressub

Appearing on several channels of the Telegram messaging app, Roman Protasevich acknowledged playing a role in organising mass disturbances in Minsk last year. His father said the video seemed to be the result of coercion. ‘It's likely his nose is broken, because the shape of it has changed and there's a lot of powder on it’, he said

‘They will kill me’: Belarusian blogger’s descent into horror ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/24/belarus-blogger-roman-protasevich-minsk-ryanair

Belarus KGB believed to be on plane forced to land in Minsk, says Ryanair CEO ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/24/belarus-seizure-blogger-ryanair-flight-us-outcry

EU imposes new economic sanctions on Belarus over ‘hijacked’ flight ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/24/belarus-put-on-notice-of-sanctions-over-hijack-of-ryanair-flight

The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► https://bit.ly/3uhA7zg

Website ► https://www.theguardian.com
Facebook ►https://www.facebook.com/theguardian
Twitter ► https://twitter.com/guardian
Instagram ► https://instagram/guardian