Belarus Slammed for ‘Reprehensible’ Forced Landing of Lithuania-Bound Ryanair Flight Carrying Activist
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International leaders condemned the actions of Belarus after it forced the landing of a Lithuania-bound Ryanair flight carrying an opposition journalist and activist, arresting him after the plane touched down in Minsk.
Roman Protasevich, the 26-year-old detained journalist, formerly worked for the opposition Telegram channel NEXTA, which broadcast news updates and footage from mass protests that took place in the wake of Belarus’ August 2020 election. Opposition activists have accused longtime Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko—who has been dubbed Europe’s “last dictator”—of rigging the election in the Eastern European nation.
Protasevich now works for a different Telegram channel, Belamova, and was based in Lithuania.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the Belarussian government’s forced landing of the plane carrying Protasevich a “reprehensible act of state terrorism.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also slammed the Eastern European nation, calling the forced landing “utterly unacceptable.”
“ALL passengers must be able to continue their travel to Vilnius immediately and their safety ensured. Any violation of international air transport rules must bear consequences,” von der Leyen tweeted.
The plane was flying from Athens, Greece, and had almost crossed over into Lithuania en route for the nation’s capital Vilnius when Belarussian authorities warned the crew of a “potential security threat,” Reuters reported. After turning back and landing in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, all the passengers got off the plane and Protasevich was detained. He has been accused of “extremism” and inciting mass riots.
“We need an immediate explanation by the government of Belarus on the diversion of a Ryanair flight within the EU to Minsk and the alleged detention of a journalist,” Germany’s Foreign Ministry’s state secretary, Miguel Berger, wrote on Twitter.
The United Kingdom’s foreign minister, Dominic Raab, said his country was “alarmed” by the reports. “We are coordinating with our allies. This outlandish action by Lukashenko will have serious implications,” he wrote on Twitter.
Jean-Yves Le Drian, France’s minister of foreign affairs, slammed the forced landing and detention of the journalist as “unacceptable.” Le Drian wrote on Twitter that European nationals must have “a firm and united response.”
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“All passengers on this flight, including any Belarusian opposition, must be allowed to leave the airport without delay,” Le Drian added.
Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda demanded the release of Protasevich.
“I call on NATO and EU allies to immediately react to the threat posed to international civil aviation by the Belarus regime,” Nauseda said.
Thousands of Belarussians took to the streets in the wake of the country’s election last August, alleging that the government had rigged the results. Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, won about 80 percent of the vote, according to the official results. But European and U.S. officials quickly sided with Lukashenko critics, saying the election was neither free nor fair.
Telegram became an integral source of information and news for those opposing the Lukashenko government. Meanwhile, the government cracked down violently against demonstrators, arresting and jailing many opposition activists.
Newsweek reached out to the State Department and the White House for comment.
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