(Last Updated On: May 24, 2021)
Belarusian authorities scrambled a fighter jet and flagged what turned out to be a false bomb alert to force a Ryanair plane to land on Sunday and then detained an opposition-minded journalist who was on board, drawing condemnation from Europe and the United States.
In what was described by some EU leaders as a hijacking, the passenger plane flying from Athens to Lithuania was suddenly diverted to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, escorted there by a Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jet. On its landing, authorities took journalist Roman Protasevich into custody, Reuters reported.
Protasevich had his head in his hands and was shaking when he realised the flight was headed for Minsk, Lithuania’s Delfi news outlet said, quoting a passenger. Later, as he was led away, according to the report, he remarked: “I’ll get the death penalty here.” Reuters could not verify the report.
Belarusian opposition blogger Protasevich detained in Minsk where his Ryanair flight made emergency landing
MINSK. May 24 (Interfax) – Belarusian opposition blogger Roman Protasevich was detained on Sunday by the Belarusian authorities in Minsk, where the Ryanair flight on which he was traveling from Athens to Vilnius made an emergency landing, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) said. Roman Protasevich has been detained. He was traveling from Athens to Vilnius on board a Ryanair flight. The plane made an emergency landing at the Minsk airport, BAJ said on Telegram on Sunday.
A Ryanair plane traveling from Athens to Vilnius made an emergency landing at the Minsk airport after a bomb alert in the afternoon of May 23. The plane was approaching the Lithuanian border, but was diverted to Minsk. Protasevich, former editor-in-chief of the NEXTA and editor of the Belarus of the Brain Telegram channels, was on board this plane. He was detained after the plane landed.
Story highlights
As European officials threatened new sanctions on Belarus, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the forced landing and arrest a shocking actâ, demanded Protasevich s immediate release and said President Joe Biden s administration was coordinating with our partners on next stepsâ
Belarusian authorities scrambled a fighter jet and flagged what turned out to be a false bomb alert to force a Ryanair plane to land on Sunday and then, detained an opposition-minded journalist, who was on board, drawing condemnation from Europe and the United States.
In what was described by some EU leaders as a hijacking, the passenger plane flying from Athens to Lithuania was suddenly diverted to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, escorted there by a Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jet. On its landing, authorities took journalist Roman Protasevich into custody.
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EU calls for probe after plane diverted to arrest journalist
Western leaders decried the diversion of a plane to Belarus in order to arrest an opposition journalist as an act of piracy and terrorism
By RAF CASERT and LIUDAS DAPKUS Associated Press
May 24, 2021, 10:05 AM
• 4 min read
Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.The Associated Press
BRUSSELS Western leaders decried the diversion of a plane to Belarus in order to arrest an opposition journalist as an act of piracy and terrorism. The European Union and others on Monday demanded an investigation into the dramatic forced landing of the Ryanair jet, which was traveling between two of the bloc’s member nations.
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.