Roman Protasevich: Grant Shapps tells airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace after journalist detained originalfm.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from originalfm.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The UK is alarmed by reports of the arrest of @nexta tv journalist Roman Protasevich & circumstances that led to his flight being forced to land in Minsk. We are coordinating with our allies. This outlandish action by Lukashenko will have serious implications. Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) May 23, 2021
“Extremely worrying”
“We are co-ordinating with our allies. This outlandish action by Lukashenko will have serious implications,” he tweeted.
Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said the situation was “extremely worrying”.
“We are in contact with the airline and EU colleagues,” he said.
Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was closely monitoring the “forcible landing” of the flight and the subsequent arrest of Mr Protasevich.
Transportation Secretary Buttigieg said U.S. was extremely concerned
Said FAA and international body were probing safety of flights
Said it needs to be assessed if it s safe for Americans to fly over the country
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has led worldwide condemnation of Alexander Lukashenko after Belarusian authorities hijacked a Ryanair flight
Passenger plane was flying from Athens to Vilnius when it was forced to make emergency landing in Minsk, where journalist Roman Protasevich was arrested
The airliner was escorted to Minsk airport by a Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jet, which reportedly had clearance to fire, amid bogus reports of a bomb on board
Who is Roman Protasevich? Roman Protasevich ran a popular messaging app that played a key role in helping organise protests against Belarus authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko. He 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. According to passengers on board the flight, the activist was super-scared and told fellow passengers he would face the death penalty. Belarus remains the only European country that still executes prisoners.
Grant Shapps said he had instructed the Civil Aviation Authority to request UK airlines avoid Belarus airspace in order to keep passengers safe and also suspended the operating permit for Belavia.