European Union leaders are considering a joint response to Belarus’ diversion of a Ryanair plane travelling between EU member nations in order to arrest a prominent opposition journalist.
Roman Protasevich, who ran a popular messaging app that played a key role in helping organise protests against Belarus’ authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko, was on board the Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania when it was diverted to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, while flying over that country.
Belarusian flight controllers had warned the plane crew of an alleged bomb threat and ordered it to land in Minsk, and a Belarusian fighter jet was scrambled to escort the Ryanair airliner.
Shortly after the landing, the 26-year-old Protasevich and his Russian girlfriend were led out of the plane.
The jet was eventually allowed to continue its flight and landed in Vilnius hours behind schedule.
Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda called the incident a “state-sponsored terror act” and proposed banning Belarusian planes from European Union airports and “serious sanctions” against the Belarusian government.
We strongly condemn the Lukashenka regime's brazen and shocking act to divert a commercial flight and arrest a journalist. We demand an international investigation and are coordinating with our partners on next steps. The United States stands with the people of Belarus.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 23, 2021
The 27 EU leaders are opening a two-day summit on Monday, and the issue immediately shot to the top the agenda amid united condemnation of Mr Lukashenko.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called it “yet another blatant attempt by the Belarusian authorities to silence all opposition voices”.
He called the diversion of the plane an “inadmissible step”, highlighting a further worsening in relations between both sides.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken called the incident “shocking” and accused the Belarusian government of endangering the lives of those aboard the aircraft, including some Americans.
He called for the release of Protasevich and for the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to review the incident.
The outrageous and illegal behaviour of the regime in Belarus will have consequences.
Those responsible for the #Ryanair hijacking must be sanctioned.
Journalist Roman Protasevich must be released immediately.
EUCO will discuss tomorrow action to take.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) May 23, 2021
Flight tracker sites indicated the plane, which was flying from Athens to Vilnius, was about six miles from the Lithuanian border when it was diverted.
Passenger Marius Rutkauskas said after the plane finally arrived in Vilnius: “I saw this Belarusian guy with girlfriend sitting right behind us. He freaked out when the pilot said the plane is diverted to Minsk. He said there’s a death penalty awaiting him there.
“We sat for an hour after the landing. Then they started releasing passengers and took those two. We did not see them again.”
Protasevich was a co-founder of the Telegram messaging app’s Nexta channel, which played a prominent role in helping organise protests against Mr Lukashenko.
The Belarusian authorities have designated it as extremist and levelled charges of inciting riots against Protasevich, who could face 15 years in prison if convicted.
Months of protests in Belarus were fuelled by Mr Lukashenko’s election to a sixth presidential term in an August vote which the opposition denounced as rigged.
More than 34,000 people have been arrested in Belarus since August, and thousands were brutally beaten.
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