Ryanair Flight 4978 had already begun its descent into the Lithuanian capital when the pilot announced that the plane would be suddenly diverting to Minsk, capital of neighbouring Belarus. There was no explanation. But one of the passengers aboard the Boeing 737 reacted immediately, standing up from his seat, reaching into the overhead locker, pulling
Ryanair Flight 4978 had already begun its descent into the Lithuanian capital when the pilot announced that the plane would be suddenly diverting to Minsk, capital of neighbouring Belarus.
There was no explanation. But one of the passengers aboard the Boeing 737 reacted immediately, standing up from his seat, reaching into the overhead locker, pulling a laptop computer from his hand luggage and passing it to a female companion along with his mobile phone.
What is the controversy about?
President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko forced a commercial airline flying from Greece to Lithuania to land in its territory allegedly on the pretext of a bomb scare, so it could arrest Belurusian dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.
Who is Roman Protasevich?
He is a dissident journalist, wanted in Belarus for his role in broadcasting huge opposition protests in Minsk last year.
The journalist is a prominent opponent of Lukashenko, and had been living in exile in neighbouring Lithuania since fleeing his home country in 2019. In November, he was charged in Belarus with inciting public disorder and social hatred. The regime has also put his name on a list of terrorists, and if convicted, he could face the death penalty.
Protasevich and fellow dissident Stepan Putilo co-founded the opposition Nexta channel on Telegram, used for mobilising street protests.
Nexta and Nexta Live now have nearly two million subscribers, managing to get round heavy state censorship.
According to The New York Times, Protasevich has been a dissident since his teenage years, and was expelled from a prestigious school in 2011 and later from the journalism program at the Minsk State University for taking part in protest rallies.
What happened on the Boeing 737 enroute Lithuania?
On Sunday, Protasevich was returning to Vilnius in Lithuania from the Greek capital of Athens, where he had been attending an economic conference.
Protasevich had taken a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius, a journey that generally takes three hours. However, when the plane approached the border between Lithuania and Belarus, a MiG-29 fighter plane intercepted it, and made it land in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
The Irish company Ryanair said in a statement that its crew was “notified by Belarus (Air Traffic Control) of a potential security threat on board and were instructed to divert to the nearest airport, Minsk”, the BBC reported.
According to a press release by Lukashenko’s office, the President himself gave an “unequivocal order” to “make the plane do a U-turn and land”, and approved dispatching the fighter plane.
It was Protasevich’s own NEXTA that broke the news of his arrest, saying that the journalist was taken after the plane and its passengers were searched. After the plane was finally let go and landed in Vilnius, Lithuania’s defence minister Arvydas Anusauskas said Protasevich’s girlfriend and four other people had not been allowed to reboard.
What are global leaders saying?
US President Joe Biden said the forced diversion by Belarus of a commercial passenger jet so it could arrest an opposition journalist was a direct affront to international norms “and condemned the action as an outrageous incident.”
Biden made the statement and joined calls for an international investigation as the European Union imposed sanctions against Belarus, including banning its airlines from using the airspace and airports in the 27-nation bloc.
The United States joined countries around the world in calling for his release, as well as for the release of the hundreds of political prisoners who are being unjustly detained by the Lukashenka regime.
Two U.S. senators urged the Biden administration to prohibit U.S. airlines from entering Belarus airspace because of the incident.
EU leaders discussed the incident at a summit in Brussels.
Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, said “the outrageous and illegal behaviour… will have consequences”.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda urged the EU to impose fresh economic sanctions.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said actions, not words, and sanctions with “a real edge” were needed.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Protasevich had been arrested “on the basis of a ruse” and called for his immediate release.
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