Secret police on board hijacked plane forced to land in Belarus, Ryanair boss claims James Crisp, Roland Oliphant
(Video by Evening Standard)
Michael O’Leary, the boss Of Ryanair, has said he believes there were Belarusian KGB agents on board the flight forced to land in Minsk by a Belarusian military aircraft.
“It is a case of state-sponsored hijacking,” he told NewstalkFM Ireland after Roman Protasevich, an exiled opposition journalist was arrested on the Ryanair plane It appears the intent of the authorities was to remove a journalist and his travelling companion, Ryanair chief executive Michael O Leary told Ireland s Newstalk radio.
Secret police on board hijacked plane forced to land in Belarus, Ryanair boss claims
EU leaders to discuss sanctions over forced landing of flight in Belarus as UK calls for immediate release of arrested journalist onboard
24 May 2021 • 10:48am
Michael O’Leary, the boss Of Ryanair, has said he believes there were Belarusian KGB agents on board the flight forced to land in Minsk by a Belarusian military aircraft.
“It is a case of state-sponsored hijacking,” he told NewstalkFM Ireland after Roman Protasevich, an exiled opposition journalist was arrested on the Ryanair plane It appears the intent of the authorities was to remove a journalist and his travelling companion, Ryanair chief executive Michael O Leary told Ireland s Newstalk radio.
Belarus faces sanctions threat over state piracy, some airlines avoid its air space
The European Union was considering responding to Sunday s incident by limiting international air traffic over Belarus and restricting its ground transport, and could tighten sanctions already in place on the former Soviet republic.
Written By:
Matthias Williams and Gabriela Baczynska / Reuters | 10:45 am, May 24, 2021 ×
A historical white-red-white flag of Belarus flies next to national flags of nations participating in IIHF World Ice Hockey Championships in Riga, Latvia May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Janis Laizans
KYIV/BRUSSELS, May 24 (Reuters) - Several airlines said on Monday they would avoid Belarusian air space after Belarus scrambled a warplane to intercept a Ryanair jetliner and arrest a dissident journalist in an act denounced by Western powers as state piracy.
Publishing date: May 24, 2021 • 1 hour ago • 4 minute read • European Council President Charles Michel gives a press briefing ahead of a Special EU summit in Brussels, on Monday, May 24, 2021. EU leaders will discuss foreign policy issues among them strategic debate on Russia and the incident involving the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk, Belarus. Photo by OLIVIER HOSLET / POOL /AFP via Getty Images
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KYIV/BRUSSELS Several airlines said on Monday they would avoid Belarusian air space after Belarus scrambled a warplane to intercept a Ryanair jetliner and arrest a dissident journalist in an act denounced by Western powers as “state piracy.”
There are certain international rules and international authorities should make assessments, said Peskov.
Nevertheless, most of the questions at today s briefing were about the Minsk incident. In particular, Peskov was asked whether the Kremlin was informed about the detention of a Russian woman named Sophia Sapega.
“No, the Kremlin has no information. Again, according to international standards, the Belarusian side will us inform about the detention of Russian citizens and provide information on this matter,” Peskov said.
He declined to comment the fact that four Russian citizens did not board the flight that departed from Minsk to Vilnius, nor did he say anything whether the Belarusian authorities had consulted their Russian counterparts before the plane was detained. At the same time, Peskov noted that within the framework of the Union State, the aviation authorities of the two countries were constantly maintaining close cooperation.