'Don't ruin her life': Sofia Sapega's father appeals to Lukashenko for her release

The father ofSofia Sapega, who was detainedby Belarusian authorities after a forced landing of Ryanair flight, hasappealed to Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to meet him in person and to pardon his daughter.

It comes after a video of Sapega was released in which she admittedthat she was the editor of a Telegram channel "Chernaya Kniga Belarusi" (Black Book of Belarus) which discloses the personal information of internal affairs officers.

Sofia Sapega, 23-year-old a student, was arrested on May 23 with her boyfriend, blogger Roman Protasevich, when their plane was forced to land in Belarus. The incident prompted outrage in the West.

Belarus has released videos of Protasevich, who rose to prominence during mass protests last summer, confessing to staging riots to try to topple Lukashenko. The opposition says the confessions were clearly obtained under duress.

Sapega, a Russian national, is being held in a Belarusian KGB detention facility in Minsk and is accused of inciting social strife. She could face years in jail.

Her father, Andrei Sapega, 53, appealed to Lukashenko as "a father to a father" in a video posted on Thursday. Russia's PrimaMedia news agency said he had recorded the appeal at its offices in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East.

"Alexander Grigorievich, I ask you for mercy. Enough of the cruelty, the world has been overflowing with it lately. Any sensible person understands that Sofia was in the wrong place and with the wrong person," he said.

Andrei Sapega said he wanted to meet Lukashenko so he could offer guarantees that his daughter would not be involved in anything seen by Belarus as illegal.

"...Maybe I will be able to persuade (Lukashenko) to pardon my daughter. Don't ruin her life, she's just a little girl who is only starting to live," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)