Protasewitsch: Influencer filmed aircraft hijacking in Belarus

Sunday, Ryanair flight FR4978 en route from Athens to Vilnius. Shortly before the Lithuanian border, the plane is forced to change course. Allegedly a bomb threat. A Belarusian MiG-29 fighter jet takes off and directs FR4978 to the airport in the capital Minsk “for security reasons” – although the actual destination is much closer.

What initially looks like a rescue maneuver turns out to be an airplane hijacking. In Minsk, the Belarusian authorities arrested the activist and journalist Roman Protasevich (26), who is among the passengers: a critic of Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko (66).