Swedish pilot: What about arresting a bartender who sold us beer in Minsk?

Tomas Mazetti comments for charter97.org on the reaction of the Belarusian secret services on his flight to Belarus.

Tomas Mazetti from Swedish Studio Total, who performed a flight over Belarus with his colleague Hannah Lina Frey, said the aim of the audacious performance was “to show support to Belarusian media, including the website charter97.org – the biggest and most significant independent news site in Belarus”.

Commenting on the arrest of journalist Anton Surapin, who published photos of the flight of the Swedish  pilots over Belarus, and Syarhei Basharimau, who rented them an apartment, Tomas Mazetti noted:

“I don't know what to say about the arrests. It's horrible and barbarous. It's unclear what was the purpose of the authorities. Syarhei Basharimau did not rent his own apartment, he just gave us the key to the apartment we later lived in. It's like arresting a bartender who sold us beer in Minsk.”

Mazetti thinks the actions by the Belarusian security services only prove that the Swedish aircraft overflew the Belarusian border unnoticed, though the Ministry of Defence continues to assure no intrusion was made.

“We see the struggle between different agencies. The secret services arrest people thus indirectly admitting the fact of overflying the border. On the other hand, the Air Defence Forces Commander, the Ministry of Defence and Lukashenka do not admit it, because it would mean the air defence system does not work, which is a shame,” the Swedish pilot thinks.