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Ryanair accused Belarus of “aviation piracy” because the country diverted its flight from Greece to Lithuania to detain dissidents, because EU leaders weighed in on sanctions against the regime.
Josep Borrell of EU Foreign Policy said he was forced to land in Minsk and subsequently detained Roman Protasevi, the former editor of Nexta, one of the main independent media groups in Belarus. Qi (Roman Protasevich), “This is another open attempt by the Belarusian authorities to suppress the voices of all opposition parties.” chief.
Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, said: “The intention of the authorities appears to be to deport a journalist and his traveling companions.” He added that he understands that agents of the KGB Secret Service of Belarus may have joined.
The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that such accusations were “baseless”, while Russia called the EU’s response “shocking.”
Borrell called for an “international investigation” to determine whether it violated international aviation rules. A French official said that a formal investigation request has been submitted to the United Nations aviation agency.
The sanctions being discussed by the leaders of the 27 EU countries include prohibiting the Belarusian national aircraft carrier Belavia from landing at EU airports; and declaring that the country’s airspace is unsafe; EU diplomats say that Minsk has imposed on dozens of officials due to violations of rights. Travel ban and asset freeze measures.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, threatened that “the cruel and illegal actions of the Belarusian regime have “consequences.” “Those who are responsible.” Ryanair The hijacking must be sanctioned,” she wrote on Twitter. “Journalist Roman Protasevich must be released immediately. “
After last year’s presidential election and subsequent suppression, relations between Brussels and Minsk deteriorated. In December, European leaders imposed a new round of sanctions on Lukashenko and other regime members.
Belarus is still part of the “Eastern Partnership” established by the six states near the EU-Russia border and enjoys privileges such as the visa facilitation agreement launched last year. The European group once hoped to attract Minsk from the orbit of the Kremlin, but Sunday’s events highlighted how this goal disappeared.
Franak Viacorka, an aide to Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, called for a no-fly zone in Belarus. He also urged further sanctions on the profitable oil and potash fertilizer industry in Belarus, which provided vital revenue for the Lukashenko regime. The Lukashenko regime ruled Belarus with a fist for 27 years.
Belarusian media said that Lukashenko personally ordered the transfer of Ryanair flight FR4978, which carried 171 passengers from Athens to Vilnius on Sunday, and then suddenly diverted to the Belarusian capital Minsk shortly before leaving Belarusian airspace.
Belarusian officials said that after the bomb scare, a MiG-29 fighter was escorted to escort the airliner to Minsk, and they later admitted that it was “fake”.
The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a statement on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday that its aviation authorities “acted in full accordance with established international rules.” Graz accused EU countries of “eager to publish belligerent remarks” and “deliberately politicizing the situation with baseless accusations and labels.”
At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to Belarus’ attacks on Western countries’ response to the incident, accusing them of hypocrisy.
“It’s shocking that the West referred to this incident as the “shock” of the Belarusian airspace.” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova wrote in a post on her Facebook page listing the West Other examples of arrests of wanted persons by air instead of the state.
According to the European University of Humanities where she studied in Vilnius, Protasevich’s girlfriend Sofia Sapega was also detained when the plane landed while traveling with him.
According to a message sent by Protasevich to a colleague on Sunday, he said he was being followed by a man suspected to be a Belarusian KGB agent while he was in the departure lounge in Athens.
Passengers on the flight told AFP that Protasvic had already begun to travel through his luggage. Once he knew that the flight was about to land in Belarus, he had already given some items to his girlfriend.
“[He was] No screaming, but obviously he was scared,” Edvinas Dimsa passenger told AFP. “It seems that if the window is open, he will jump out of the window. “
Additional reporting by Philip Georgiadis in London and Richard Milne in Oslo
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