A prominent opponent of Belarus’ authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko has been arrested after the Ryanair plane in which he was traveling was diverted to the country after a bomb threat.
The opposition in Belarus and western officials have denounced the incident which led to the arrest of Raman Pratasevich as a hijacking operation by the country’s government.
Mr Pratasevich, who could face 15 years in jail if convicted of several charges, was on board the Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece, to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius when it changed course to head for Minsk.
Passenger Marius Rutkauskas said after the plane arrived in Vilnius following several hours in the Belarusian capital: “I saw this Belarusian guy with girlfriend sitting right behind us.
“He freaked out when the pilot said the plane is diverted to Minsk. He said there’s a death penalty awaiting him there.
“We sat for an hour after the landing. Then they started releasing passengers and took those two. We did not see them again.”
Flight tracker sites indicated the plane was about six miles from the Lithuanian border when it was diverted. There are conflicting accounts of the move.
The press service of Mr Lukashenko said the president himself ordered a MiG-29 fighter jet to accompany the airliner after he was informed of the bomb threat.
Deputy air force commander Andrei Gurtsevich said the plane’s crew made the decision to land in Minsk.
Ryanair said in a statement that Belarusian air traffic control had instructed the plane to divert to the capital.
Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda called the incident a “state-sponsored terror act”.
He said that the European Council would discuss the case on Monday and that he would propose banning Belarusian planes from European Union airports and levelling “serious sanctions” against Mr Lukashenko’s government.
Lithuania’s foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said: “Belarusian airspace is completely unsafe for any commercial flight, and it should be deemed this not only by the EU but by the international community. Because now, this instrument could be used for any plane crossing Belarusian airspace.”
Mr Pratasevich is a co-founder of the Telegram messaging app’s Nexta channel, which officials in Belarus last year declared as extremist after it was used to help organise major protests against Mr Lukashenko.
The protests have dwindled in recent months, but Belarus authorities are continuing to crack down on the opposition with arrests.
The Belarus presidential press service said the bomb threat was received while the plane was over Belarusian territory. Officials later said no explosives were found on board.
Passengers were taken off the plane in Minsk. After the plane arrived in Vilnius, defence minister Arvydas Anusauskas said Mr Pratasevich’s girlfriend and four other people did not reboard.
“We will find out who are the other four that did not travel with the rest. Lithuania has launched an investigation to find out what really happened on that plane,” he said on Facebook.
Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has called on the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to begin an investigation.
“It is absolutely obvious that this is an operation by the special services to hijack an aircraft in order to detain activist and blogger Raman Pratasevich,” she said in a statement.
“Not a single person who flies over Belarus can be sure of his safety.”
The ICAO later said it “is strongly concerned by the apparent forced landing”.
Belarusian authorities said there were 123 passengers on the plane. But Mr Landsbergis, the Lithuanian foreign minister, said there were 171.
We strongly condemn the Lukashenka regime's brazen and shocking act to divert a commercial flight and arrest a journalist. We demand an international investigation and are coordinating with our partners on next steps. The United States stands with the people of Belarus.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 23, 2021
Western countries also expressed alarm.
US ambassador Julie Fisher said Belarus “showed again its contempt for international community and its citizens”, and called the incident “dangerous and abhorrent”.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen tweeted: “It is utterly unacceptable to force @Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius to land in Minsk.”
German foreign minister Heiko Maas said “such an act cannot be left without definite consequences from the side of the European Union” and called for Mr Pratasevich to be released.
The outrageous and illegal behaviour of the regime in Belarus will have consequences.
Those responsible for the #Ryanair hijacking must be sanctioned.
Journalist Roman Protasevich must be released immediately.
EUCO will discuss tomorrow action to take.— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) May 23, 2021
US secretary of state Antony Blinken called the incident “shocking” and accused Mr Lukashenka’s government of endangering the lives of those aboard the aircraft, some of them Americans.
He called for the release of Mr Pratasevich and for the Council of the ICAO to review the incident.
Mr Blinken said: “Independent media are an essential pillar supporting the rule of law and a vital component of a democratic society. The United States once again condemns the Lukashenka regime’s ongoing harassment and arbitrary detention of journalists.”
Months of protests erupted in Belarus after last August’s presidential election, in which Mr Lukashenko won a sixth term in office.
Police cracked down on the demonstrations, detaining around 30,000 people and beating many of them.
Although protests died down during the winter, Belarus has continued to take actions against the opposition and independent news media.
Last week, 11 staff members of the TUT.by news website were detained by police.
