Multiple countries and agencies are conducting investigations now. Lithuania and Poland have criminal probes open, and the UN aviation authority is looking into it. The European Union and several Western governments are considering new sanctions against Belarus and Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the long-ruling strongman who has cracked down violently on protests after claiming victory in an August 2020 election opponents say was blatantly rigged. . Several EU members have called the diversion of the commercial flight between two EU countries a "state hijacking" aimed to deliver Pratasevich, the former editor-in-chief of a Telegram channel that has documented the protests and crackdown, into Lukashenka's hands. Others have accused Belarus of "piracy." Ryanair's chief executive called it "state-sponsored hijacking."