Belarus s hijacking of passenger plane to arrest dissident journalist Roman Protasevich requires tough response from democratic world – Scotsman comment scotsman.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from scotsman.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
UK ministers have told airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace following the arrest of dissident journalist Roman Protasevich after the Ryanair flight he was on board was diverted to Minsk.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told UK lawmakers on Monday that the incident was a “shocking assault on civil aviation and an assault on international law”, adding that Alexander Lukashenko’s government “must be held to account for such reckless and dangerous behaviour.”
A number of Belarusian government officials are already subject to asset freezes and travel bans under the UK’s Magnitsky human rights act.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also announced that the operating permit of Belarus’ state airline, Belavia, which runs three flights per week to the UK, had been suspended, effectively banning it from entering UK airspace. (Benjamin Fox | EURACTIV.com)
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Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority to request airlines avoid Belarusian airspace “in order to keep passengers safe”. He also suspended the operating permit for Belavia, the country’s state-owned airline.
Women with posters reading I am/we are Roman Protasevich in the arrival area as passengers disembark from the Ryanair passenger plane from Athens that was intercepted and diverted to Minsk on the same day by Belarus authorities on 23 May (Photo: PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP via Getty Images)
Belarus state media said the aircraft – which was travelling from Athens to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius – was switched to the Belarusian capital of Minsk following a bomb threat.
I’m begging the whole world to save him : Mother of Belarus journalist Roman Protasevich makes emotional plea for help getting him released from Minsk jail where he is being held after being seized in Ryanair hijacking
Roman Protasevich, 26, has appeared on state TV - the first time he has been seen since his arrest on Sunday
Dissident journalist said he is cooperating with police, is being treated within the law and has confessed
But father Dzmitry said it seems his son s nose is broken and he is wearing makeup to hide bruising on his face
His mother Natalia has begged the international community to save her son over fears he will be killed
Andrey Sapega and Anna Dudich, parents of Sofia Sapega who was arrested in Minsk on Sunday alongside her boyfriend Roman Protasevich, have spoken of their fears that she will be tortured in jail.