World leaders condemn Belarus after Ryanair flight is forced to land and journalist is arrested European leaders and the US have strongly condemned the arrest of a Belarusian dissident journalist after the Ryanair flight he was travelling on was forced to land in the Belarus capital Minsk.
Roman Protasevich, 26, was arrested after his flight from Athens was diverted from its scheduled destination of Vilnius in Lithuania on Sunday.
Belarus state media said the aircraft was switched to Minsk following a bomb threat, and that Belarusian President
Alexander Lukashenko personally ordered a MiG-29 fighter jet to escort the flight to Minsk.
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Roman Protasevich: World leaders condemn Belarus after Ryanair flight is forced to land and journalist is arrested European leaders and the US have strongly condemned the arrest of a Belarusian dissident journalist after the Ryanair flight he was travelling on was forced to land in the Belarus capital Minsk.
Roman Protasevich, 26, was arrested after his flight from Athens was diverted from its scheduled destination of Vilnius in Lithuania on Sunday.
Belarus state media said the aircraft was switched to Minsk following a bomb threat, and that Belarusian President
Alexander Lukashenko personally ordered a MiG-29 fighter jet to escort the flight to Minsk.
Calls for sanctions and planes to stop flying over Belarus after act of state terrorism
A Belarusian dog handler checks luggage off a Ryanair plane parked at Minsk International Airport. AFP
A Ryanair aircraft, which was carrying Belarusian opposition blogger and activist Roman Protasevich and diverted to Belarus, lands at Vilnius Airport in Vilnius, Lithuania. Reuters
Women stand with posters reading I am, we are Roman Protasevich in the arrival area as passengers disembark at the airport in Vilnius, its initial destination. AFP
A woman holds a poster reads where is Roman Protasevich?! as she waits to see passengers at the International Airport outside Vilnius. AP Photo
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Belarus Sends Fighter Jet To Force Passenger Plane To Land And Arrest Critic, Sparks Fury
Belarus on May 23 forced a Ryanair flight carrying a wanted opposition activist to land in the capital Minsk, provoking a furious outcry from world leaders.
IMAGE: TWITTER/AP
Belarus on May 23 forced a Ryanair flight carrying a wanted opposition activist to land in the capital Minsk, provoking a furious outcry from world leaders who described it as “state terrorism”. According to BBC, Roman Protasevich, a 26-year-old dissident journalist, was detained before the plane was allowed to resume its flight. A MiG-29 escorted the jet to Minsk because of a bomb scare, however, no explosives were found.