Belarus forces airliner carrying opponent to land in Minsk, EU leaders denounce “unacceptable action”

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Belarus sent a fighter jet on Sunday, May 23, to intercept an airliner carrying an opposition activist. The opposition media Nexta claimed that its former editor, Roman Protassevich, 26, was arrested after the emergency landing at Minsk airport of this aircraft, a Ryanair Boeing 737 from Athens to from Vilnius, Lithuania. The press service of the Belarusian presidency initially confirmed the arrest of Mr Protassevich, before suppressing the message.

According to the authorities, the aircraft deviated from its trajectory because of a bomb threat. The Nexta channel, for its part, claimed that the emergency landing had been caused by a ” fight ” triggered by Belarusian security agents, present on board and who claimed that an explosive device was in the aircraft. Minsk airport, quoted by the state-run Belta news agency, claimed the bomb threat came to light “Erroneous” after a search of the Boeing.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko personally ordered a Mig-29 fighter jet to intercept the plane after the alert, his press service said.

An “unacceptable diversion” for Paris

In November, the Belarusian security services placed Mr. Protassevich on the list of “Individuals involved in terrorist activities”. The young man is a former collaborator of Nexta, media which played a leading role in the great wave of protest against the re-election in 2020 of Mr. Lukashenko, in office since 1994.

EU leaders jointly called on Belarus to let the Ryanair plane depart, and to allow “All its passengers” to continue their journey, lambasting “A completely unacceptable action”. “We hold the Belarusian government responsible for the safety of all passengers and the aircraft. ALL passengers must be able to continue their journey immediately ”, tweeted EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel also called on Belarus to let go “All passengers”.

France called the “Diversion” the theft of“Unacceptable”. “A firm and united response from Europeans is essential. All passengers on this flight, including any Belarusian opponents, must be allowed to leave Belarus without delay ”, reacted the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, on Twitter.

Germany, through the voice of a senior foreign ministry official, Miguel Berger, called for a “Immediate explanation” to Belarus on these facts, while Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieck spoke of “State terrorism”. “ An unprecedented event! A civilian passenger plane flying to Vilnius [la capitale de la Lituanie] was forced to land in Minsk “, wrote Gitanas Nauseda, the Lithuanian President, on his Twitter account. “The Belarusian regime is behind this abject act”, he added. Belarusian opposition figure in exile, Svetlana Tsikhanovskaya, also condemned the event. On Twitter, she assured that the regime had ” strength “ Roman Protassevich’s plane landed. According to her, the journalist “Incurs the death penalty in Belarus”.

“The regime forced the disembarkation of the plane @Ryanair in Minsk to arrest journalist and activist Roman Protassevich. He faces the death penalty in Belarus. We demand the immediate release of Roman, an investigation of @ICAO [l’Organisation de l’aviation civile internationale] and sanctions against Belarus. “

During the summer and fall of 2020, the protest movement brought together tens of thousands of people in the capital and several other cities. A mobilization considered large-scale, for a country of barely 9.5 million inhabitants. But the protest gradually fizzled out due to mass arrests, police violence that left at least four people dead, ongoing judicial harassment and heavy prison sentences handed down to activists and journalists.

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The World with AFP