Belarus ‘diverts Ryanair flight to arrest journalist’, opposition says
A Ryanair plane from Greece to Lithuania was diverted to Belarus for several hours on Sunday, with activists saying it was done to arrest a dissident journalist on board.
European nations reacted with outrage, accusing Belarus of “state terrorism”.
The ex-editor of the Nexta group, Roman Protasevich, was detained before the plane was allowed to resume its flight.
Belarus media said a MiG-29 escorted the jet to Minsk because of a bomb scare but no explosives were found.
The plane finally landed in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, its original destination, at 21:25 local time (18:25 GMT), more than seven hours after its scheduled arrival.
Arriving passengers said they had been given no information about the reason for the abrupt diversion to Minsk. One said Mr Protasevich looked “super scared. I looked directly to his eyes and it was very sad”.
There have already been calls for the EU and Nato to intervene.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab warned the “outlandish action” would have “serious implications”.
Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was beaten by Alexander Lukashenko in presidential polls last year widely denounced as rigged, was among those demanding Mr Protasevich’s release.
Since August’s election, 66-year-old Mr Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, has cracked down on dissenting voices. Many opposition figures have been arrested or, like Ms Tikhanovskaya, fled into exile.
How was the flight diverted?
Flight FR4978 was en route from Athens to Vilnius when it turned east to Minsk shortly before it reached the Lithuanian border. Greece and Lithuania put the number of passengers on board at 171.
The flight path, visible on the Flightradar24 website, suggests the plane was actually nearer to Vilnius than Minsk when it turned.
Ryanair said checks in Minsk found “nothing untoward” and the aircraft left Minsk at 20:50 local time.
“We apologise sincerely to all affected passengers for this regrettable delay which was outside Ryanair’s control,” it added.
The Ryanair statement made no mention of Mr Protasevich.
Nexta was the first to break the news of his arrest. It said the plane and its passengers was searched, then Mr Protasevich was taken away.
What has the reaction been?
The US ambassador to Belarus, Julie Fisher, tweeted that it was “abhorrent” Mr Lukashenko had faked a bomb threat and sent fighter jets to arrest a journalist.
European Council chairman Charles Michel said EU leaders would discuss “this unprecedented incident” on Monday at a Council summit and it would not “remain without consequences”.
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this was a “serious and dangerous incident”.
Both Latvia and Lithuania said the airspace over Belarus should be recognised as unsafe, with Latvia’s Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics saying it should be closed to all international flights.
The UN’s agency for civil aviation, ICAO, said it was concerned about an “apparent forced landing” which could be “in contravention of the Chicago Convention” which sets out the rules on airspace and aircraft safety.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said: “Hijacking a civilian plane is an unprecedented act of state terrorism that cannot go unpunished.” www.bbc.com/news