INTL President of Belarus orders fighter jet to intercept civilian aircraft to arrest opposition activist!

[Melodi]

Per the BBC, the Plane was released and has just landed in Vilnius...(war now less likely at least not in the next 24 hours)...

Belarus 'diverts Ryanair flight to arrest journalist', opposition says

Nations demand the dissident's release, after a MiG-29 escorts the Greece-Lithuania flight to Minsk.

www.bbc.com

Belarus diverts Ryanair flight to arrest journalist, says opposition
Published5 minutes ago
Share
Related Topics

• Belarusian presidential election 2020

IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS
image captionThe Ryanair flight landing in Vilnius, its original destination, more than six hours after its scheduled arrival time
A Ryanair plane flying from Greece to Lithuania was diverted to Belarus, with the country's opposition figures saying it was done so a dissident journalist on board could be arrested.
The Nexta media network said its ex-editor Roman Protasevich was detained.

Belarus state media said the plane was diverted to Minsk because of a bomb scare but no explosives were found.
European nations have reacted with outrage, accusing Belarus of "state terrorism" and demanding punishment.
The plane spent several hours on the ground in Minsk before flying on to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, its original destination.

It landed in Lithuania at about 21:30 local time (18:30 GMT), AFP news agency reports - more than six hours after its scheduled arrival time.

IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS
image captionSupporters of Roman Protasevich wait for his arrival at Vilnius airport
Political figures across Europe have already called for the EU and Nato to intervene.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab warned the "outlandish action" would have "serious implications".

Lithuania called for EU countries to jointly recommend that planes avoid Belarusian airspace, to summon Belarusian ambassadors, and to protest against the use of military aircraft to divert commercial flights.

European Council chairman Charles Michel said EU leaders would discuss "this unprecedented incident" tomorrow at a Council summit and it would not "remain without consequences".

"I call on Belarus authorities to immediately release the detained passenger and to fully guarantee his rights," he added.

 

[somdwatcher]

The EU is useless in this situation without the full backing of NATO. This was a hostile act. Discussions and sanctions will do nothing to shame or change the course of events here.

 

[AlaskaSue]

I don’t find anything online showing any kind of statement from ‘the leader of the free world’. Is it still nap time for ol’ Joe? I can’t imagine any other president, for good or ill, refraining from at least a comment this far into the event.

Very scary for those folks, and very unsettling news.

 

[Melodi]

The EU is useless in this situation without the full backing of NATO. This was a hostile act. Discussions and sanctions will do nothing to shame or change the course of events here.

I suspect that if the flight had not been allowed to leave and go on to its destination then by tomorrow we might be on a war footing.

As it is, I have no idea what happens next and I suspect a lot depends on if it is proven that Russia is involved or they are not involved.

And yeah, both Putin and Biden have been absent on this topic and that is so not good...

 

[Zagdid]

It is likely that the blogger/journalist is also an activist and met with foreign agents in Greece. A serious effort to undermine and destabilize the current Belarus government similar to what happened in the Ukraine is underway. Also likely that the journalist was going to Lithuania in order to sneak back into Belarus for the purpose of organizing protests. However, Putin and Lukashenko ensured that there would be no Ukrainian color revolution redux by virtue of the agreement signed in Moscow. There are already sanctions on Belarus. Belarus seems to be a very touchy hot spot for east vs west.

 

[Melodi]

Normally I wouldn't post something this silly (or apparently silly) on a thread like this but if this guy does have the condition of dictator's brain this could have set him off. Eurovision is a HUGE (and I do mean HUGE) deal in Europe. The timing is interesting as is the fact that both songs were rejected for being too political (which is not allowed).

Belarus banned from Eurovision over song lyrics

The country has been disqualified for twice fielding songs deemed to have broken competition rules.

www.bbc.com

Belarus banned from Eurovision over song lyrics
Published26 March
Share

IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS
Belarus has been disqualified from the Eurovision Song Contest for twice fielding songs deemed to have broken the rules of the competition.
The country was told to submit a new song two weeks ago over concerns their entry had a political subtext.
But the re-submission, by the same group, has now also been deemed inappropriate by contest organisers.
The band, Galasy ZMesta, is known for mocking anti-government protests.
Large-scale demonstrations took place across Belarus last year after Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in a disputed presidential election.

Why was Belarus's first song rejected?
I Will Teach You, a song by Galasy ZMesta, featured lyrics such as "I will teach you to toe the line", prompting a backlash from opposition figures.

Many worried that allowing such a song would legitimise Mr Lukashenko's violent suppression of protesters.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organisers of Eurovision, agreed the lyrics were inappropriate and ordered that Belarus re-submit their entry if they wanted to take part in May.

IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS
image captionMr Lukashenko said Eurovision's decision was politicised

Mr Lukashenko weighed in on the controversy himself.

"They are starting to press us on all fronts. Even at Eurovision, I see," he said.
"We'll make another song," he added. "You see that this is all politicised."

How did Eurovision organisers respond?
Belarus went back to the drawing board, but their re-submission has now also been rejected.

In a statement, the EBU said it had "carefully scrutinised the new entry to assess its eligibility to compete."

However, "it was concluded that the new submission was also in breach of the rules of the competition that ensure the Contest is not instrumentalised or brought into disrepute".

"Regrettably, Belarus will not be participating in the 65th Eurovision Song Contest in May," it added.

What has been happening in Belarus?
The disputed election in August led to a political crisis in Belarus.

The main opposition leader, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, said she had attracted between 60 and 70% of the vote but was forced into exile in neighbouring Lithuania immediately after the vote.

Mr Lukashenko, who has ruled the country for 26 years, refused to resign.


media captionMusic has featured prominently in the protests pushing for President Lukashenko to step down
The EU and the US government agree with the opposition that the August election was rigged.

Mr Lukashenko ignored repeated opposition calls for negotiations to re-run the election under free and fair conditions, to end police brutality and release political prisoners.

Thousands of demonstrators were arrested.

 

[Red Baron]

State sponsored Russia Today is apparently onboard the Belarus version of events,

Runtime 4:29

Exiled Belarus opposition activist arrested after Ryanair flight grounded

View: https://youtu.be/QvljoWcowcM

 

[somdwatcher]

I hope that this is not able to be attributed to another "color" revolution/overthrow of government such as what happened with Maiden/Ukraine 2014.

 

[Melodi]

That RT report is so "not good," if this is Russia's official response (and RT is a Russian New Agency) then well, things may become very interesting.

No one in the EU believes the bomb story and even if there had been a scare the normal thing would have been to fly onto Vilnius which was much closer.

At least the plane and other passengers are back, but I don't think this is over.

 

[et2]

More reasons not to fly anymore.

 

[FreedomoftheHills]

Bold move. I like it.

No passengers injured, and one less Soros-Sponsored Chaos Agent® out there to promote the color revolution in Belarus.

 

[Melodi]

Bold move. I like it.

No passengers injured, and one less Soros-Sponsored Chaos Agent® out there to promote the color revolution in Belarus.

So you want it to countries to have a "free pass" to hijack civilian planes with fighter jets, and holding the passenger's hostage for several hours (they were not given any information) so they can pull off passengers granted political asylum elsewhere?

You do realize that if this is allowed to stand as the "new normal" it will destroy air travel as we know it, even more than COVID-19 has?

I am old enough to remember the terror of hijackings that nearly killed air travel in the 1970s and 1980s. Even though this incident turned out to be all right for the other passengers, I suspect quite a number of them are going to serious mental effects including PTSD and with GOOD REASONS.

Next time it could be China deciding to "order" a plane carrying a former Uygur prisoner or a British Airlines flight diverted from India to China to grab a British Citizen whose a former resident of Hong Kong. Or how about the Russians diverting a plane from the edges of Poland full of Americans because a Russian-American blogger is on board?

The people on that flight are starting to talk and they were petrified, this is so totally beyond the pale I can't even express how bad it is. And while the US was wrong to take down Evo Morales's plane (mentioned in the RT video) at least it was a private presidential jet - though obviously not as well equipped as Air Force One.

But a passenger plane? Shades of "take me to Cuba" or even 9/11.

 

[AlfaMan]

Well, today ushers in a new era in state ordered and state sanctioned flight piracy. The RT report on this incident was a whitewash while Russia either formulates a party line on the incident while it wipes every trace of their help in this off the earth.

If this is allowed to stand unanswered, then every passenger on every flight all over the world is potentially subject to having their flight diverted by a government. And that passenger being snatched off the plane to stand charges, whether real or sham.
If this is the case I can see a LOT of Americans being diverted and snatched off planes in Communist China to face false charges. Just because the Chinese can.
That's the implications of this folks.

If Lukashenko wanted this blogger so bad, why did he go to such lengths to make it so visible in the international press? Why not let the blogger go to Vilnius and off him there; or bag and tag him and scoot him across the border like Mossad did with Adolph Eichmann?

 

[FreedomoftheHills]

So you want it to countries to have a "free pass" to hijack civilian planes with fighter jets, and holding the passenger's hostage for several hours (they were not given any information) so they can pull off passengers granted political asylum elsewhere?

Actually, I see this not as piracy or hijacking, but as a special military operation within a sovereign nation's airspace, resulting in the efficient and effective removal of a foreign-funded terrorist from circulation - without harm or even significant risk to the civilians on the plane.

One does not need to have fondness for Lukachenko (I do not, personally!) in order to sympathize with the current position of Belarus as a nation which is facing enormous external pressure from the likes of the Open Society Foundation. As he has partially done in Serbia, thoroughly in Ukraine (with US assistance) and is attempting in Russia through Navalni (bad choice...) Soros and his compatriots are pushing hard for color revolution in Belarus.

The successful accomplishment of this attempt would not benefit the West, the East, the citizens of Belarus, or citizens of any nation which values its right to self-determination.

Research Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Look at her connections, at who provides her funding and who brought her to prominence. See for yourself.

So yes, if one of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's chief deputies can be taken out of circulation in this way, I think it was a good move.

 

[Faroe]

Jumpy feeling - hope Dick didn't just start a war.
Like AlphaMan suggested, all this over a dissident? There are OTHER ways to handle that!

 

[Red Baron]

If Lukashenko wanted this blogger so bad, why did he go to such lengths to make it so visible in the international press?

Why not let the blogger go to Vilnius and off him there; or bag and tag him and scoot him across the border like Mossad did with Adolph Eichmann?

Likely to send a message to all of the other dissidents that they are not safe, regardless of their location.

Just like when Russia prisoned multiple ex KGB agents that had defected.

They want the message to be heard, by everyone.

This acts as an imposing deterrent that outweighs any sort of international reaction.

 

[AlfaMan]

Likely to send a message to all of the other dissidents that they are not safe, regardless of their location.

Just like when Russia prisoned multiple ex KGB agents that had defected.

They want the message to be heard, by everyone.

This acts as an imposing deterrent that outweighs any sort of international reaction.

This message went out over the airwaves perhaps a little too loud and too clear. Deterrent is one thing; these guys played cowboys and airliners. In today's age this goes way over the top.

 

[Red Baron]

This message went out over the airwaves perhaps a little too loud and too clear. Deterrent is one thing; these guys played cowboys and airliners. In today's age this goes way over the top.

I won't disagree but I think we are dealing with a different mindset here.

If a totalitarian Belarus Russian proxy president can avoid another Maiden/Ukraine type revolution, international indignation is a small price to pay.

Especially if Russia has your backside covered from repercussions.

 

[Jeep]

What IF the pilots did not obey the fighter jets orders, would they have opened fire and shot the airliner down? Or did they just rolled the dice hoping the pilots would obey the orders to land?

 

[Doomer Doug]

I am still totally confused. Did the plane EVER enter the air space of Belarus? Yes or no. If they did then it was a dirty deed, but not an act of piracy or war. If Byleorussian fighter jets entered NATO air space and threatened to shoot it down or lied to divert it THEN it will reveal how spineless NATO truly is. The EU or NATO aren't going to war over this. Personally, this looks like Khurschev and Castro all over again. Putin can't control his lapdog. Biden will reverse his pipeline approval and the sanctions will flow.

 

[zeker]

What IF the pilots did not obey the fighter jets orders, would they have opened fire and shot the airliner down? Or did they just rolled the dice hoping the pilots would obey the orders to land?

it would be said that a bomb DID go off

 

[Plain Jane]

It is very interesting that Belarus would be willing to invoke the ire of the international community just to snag one anti-government journalist/activist.

Makes me wonder what else Belarus is capable of in order to prop up it's pathetic totalitarian post-Commie regime.

Assange?

 

[Melodi]

OK, I can tell you this morning that something "amazing has happened" not only is the entire EU UNITED on this one but quite a few non-EU countries in Europe (like Norway) are also spitting nails. The meetings on what to do are ongoing right now, since Belarus is already under sanctions, they feel they have to have an even harsher response though I tend to agree there won't be an all-out war - yet.

As you can tell by this article, the Europeans are trying to give Russia an out until they either admit those agents were "KGB" or not. Actually, it would be the Russian Intelligence Service (I forget the current name) but KGB will work for now. I think if Russia decides to back their pet monster (and George Soros for an enemy or not, this guy is a monster) things may morph into war as in the Guns of June or August but it won't be the only reason.

Right now, Europe seems to be trying to play the "we have a rogue dictator practicing air piracy on his own, we will isolate him" Getting a bit "sporty" out there...Melodi

EU bans Belarusian flights from bloc's airspace

EU leaders have announced a ban on all Belarusian flights into EU airspace and a ban on the country's state carrier Belavia from landing at EU airports.

www.rte.ie

Forced Ryanair landing a 'state-sponsored coercive act' - Taoiseach
Updated / Monday, 24 May 2021 11:26

The plane carrying Roman Protasevich was flying from Greece to Lithuania before being intercepted and forced to divert to Belarus

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Belarus yesterday was a "state-sponsored coercive act" and was "absolutely unacceptable".

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, he said the European Council must respond "very strongly".


Mr Martin described a statement from the Belarusian authorities insisting that they acted legally as "nonsense".

The Taoiseach said "we all know what happened here".

"Don't be hiding behind excuses", he said. "You forced the plane down to arrest a journalist whose views you don't agree with. You arrested that individual and that is contrary to any sense of human decency or democratic values."

He said he has not spoken to Ryanair's Michael O'Leary about the incident.

Commenting on speculation that secret service officers were on the flight, the Taoiseach said he did not have definitive information in relation to that.

Mr Martin said he will meet his Lithuanian and Greek counterparts later this evening after they sought a meeting with him about the incident.

There are already sanctions against some Belrusian leaders, Mr Martin said, and the issue now is if there will be a graduated response from the EU council towards the regime, both in terms of sanctions and other measures that the EU will want to take.

"There has to be measures that respond firmly to an act of this kind, which put crew and passengers at risk", he said.

Mr Martin added: "It's piracy in the skies and it's just not acceptable. There are international rules there and they have to apply."

Earlier, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney also described the incident as "state-sponsored aviation piracy".

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme, Mr Coveney said the EU must give a "very clear response" to the incident.

European leaders will have an opportunity to make "clear decisions" at a council meeting today, he said, adding that the regime in Belarus has "no democratic legitimacy" and is "behaving as a dictatorship".

"If there's indecision or weakness shown by the EU here, it'll reinforce in the minds of the decision makers in Belarus that they've done the right thing here," Mr Coveney said.

"So I think the response has to be clear, tough and needs to happen quickly."


The plane was on its way from Greece to Lithuania when the pilot was ordered to land in Minsk so authorities there could arrest an opposition activist. Roman Protasevich has spoken out against President Alexander Lukashenko and his government.

The plane's crew were told that a bomb was on board and they were ordered to land while a Belarusian warplane escorted them down.

Mr Coveney said he does not know for certain if reports that Belarusian KGB officials were on the Ryanair plane are true.

He said that when the plane landed, five or six people did not re-board the plane when it took off again.

"But only one or two people were actually arrested", he said. "So that certainly would suggest that a number of other people who left the plane were secret service. We don't know from what country, but clearly linked to the Belarusian regime."

Activist Roman Protasevich was taken from the plane in Minsk
Mr Coveney said there needs to be an independent and international inquiry into what happened, adding there also needs to be a "very clear signal" from European leaders as soon as this evening that this is something that cannot be tolerated.

"We do have to try to establish all of the facts as soon as we can", Mr Coveney said. "When operations that involve secret service personnel are involved, it often isn't easy to get to the facts quickly, or sometimes at all... but I think we know enough to know that this isn't acceptable."

He said they have been "strong, vocal and consistent" in terms of their support for democracy in Belarus, adding that some opposition leaders who were forced to leave Belarus are being protected in EU countries.

Ryanair group chief executive Michael O'Leary also described the incident as "state-sponsored hijacking".

Speaking to Newstalk, Mr O'Leary said: "It appears the intent of the authorities was to remove a journalist and his travelling companion.

"We believe there were some KGB agents offloaded at the airport as well."



In terms of the response to the incident, Mr Coveney said it is not for him personally to decide, but there are options - such as flight bans or travel bans, or an increase in the numbers of people who are named under the existing sanctions.

"But the EU and its institutions will have a clear toolbox of options in terms of the use of targetted sanctions", he said. "But they have to be sanctions that will be noticed and cause concern in Minsk, because otherwise its a futile exercise."

When asked if closing Belarusian airspace would be something he supports, Mr Coveney said he thinks that would be a "very strong response" but the sanctions "need to be fully thought through, in terms of consequences."

Simon Coveney said the EU must give a 'very clear' response
He said this incident is on the "upper end of the scale" in terms of something that needs a "very strong sanctions-based response".

"We cannot allow this incident to pass on the basis of warnings or strong press releases", Mr Coveney said.

"I think there has to be real edge to the sanctions that are applied on the back of this, so that we're sending a very strong signal that EU airlines cannot be targetted by state sponsored aviation piracy, which is essentially what's happened here."

The EU has called for an international investigation into the forced landing of the plane.

"In carrying out this coercive act, the Belarusian authorities have jeopardised the safety of passengers and crew," the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement this morning.

EU leaders are set to discuss additional sanctions against Belarus at a summit starting in Brussels later today.

"An international investigation into this incident must be carried out to ascertain any breach of international aviation rules."

After hours grounded in Belarus, the flight was able to continue on its journey, landing in Vilnius at 6.25pm last evening.

Passengers finally arrive in Vilnius
The incident comes as Belarus authorities intensify their crackdown on the opposition following historic protests that gripped the ex-Soviet country after last year's disputed presidential election.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the action would have consequences and this morning called for those responsible for the incident must be sanctioned.

The chairman of the British parliament's foreign affairs committee has called for all civilian airlines to cease flying over Belarus after what he said was an act of air piracy by President Alexander Lukashenko.

"We need to stop any aircraft overflying Belarus," Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Tugendhat told Times Radio.

"This is an act of air-piracy, combined with hijacking, and eventually linked to kidnapping."

 

[Melodi]

And just in case anyone cares about their "official" story...

Belarus activist appears to 'confess' in state media

Arrested Belarussian opposition blogger Roman Protasevich has said he is cooperating and admitting to charges of organising protests in a video circulated by state TV channels.

www.rte.ie

Belarus denounces 'unfounded' claims over plane diversion
Updated / Monday, 24 May 2021 10:31

A woman stands with a poster reading 'Where is Roman (Protasevich)?' in the arrival area as passengers disembark from the diverted flight after arriving in Vilnius

Authorities in Belarus have insisted they acted legally when they diverted a Ryanair plane carrying an opposition activist, accusing the West of making unfounded claims for political reasons.

The government of Alexander Lukashenko provoked global fury by pulling Ryanair flight FR4978 from its Athens-to-Vilnius route and arresting one of the passengers, opposition journalist and blogger Roman Protasevich, in Minsk.

Western leaders called it an "act of state terrorism" and the EU is expected to toughen sanctions against Belarus today.

Ireland has described the forced diversion of the flight operated by an Irish airline as a state-sponsored act of "aviation piracy".

Russia has said it was shocked by the Western outcry

"We are shocked that the West calls the incident in Belarusian air space 'shocking,'" Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Facebook, accusing Western nations of "kidnappings, forced landings and illegal arrests".

Alexander Lukashenko speaking after his disputed re-election in August 2020
"There is no doubt that the actions of our competent authorities... fully met established international rules," Belarusian foreign ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz said, accusing the West of "politicising" the situation.

"Unfounded accusations are being made," he said in a statement, accusing the West of not wanting to be objective and threatening to slap new sanctions on Belarus.

Mr Glaz said it was "sad" that the passengers of the Ryanair flight "faced some inconvenience".

"However the rules of aviation security are an absolute priority," he added.

Belarus authorities said the plane had to make an emergency landing in Minsk following a bomb scare that turned out to be false.

Belarus state media has defended the use of a MiG-29 jet to divert the passenger plane, claiming authorities had no other choice.

Mr Protasevich, 26, is a Belarusian journalist and activist.

Together with co-founder Stepan Putilo he until recently ran the Nexta telegram channel that galvanised and directed huge protests against Mr Lukashenko's disputed re-election to a sixth term in August 2020.



Read more:
EU outrage as Belarus diverts Ryanair flight, arrests opposition activist
Forced Ryanair landing 'state-sponsored aviation piracy'

The leader of the Belarus opposition, who has been exiled in Lithuania since last year's vote, told RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme the forced landing was a "threat to worldwide security".

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said the incident was a "real shock" and endangered the lives of dozens of passengers "just to kidnap one person".

She said that while it is not currently clear what is happening to Mr Protasevich, he is certainly "not in safeness".

"The escalation of violence in Belarus is the result of impunity", Ms Tikhanovskaya said. "So we have to put much more pressure on the regime."

She urged European unity on imposing more sanctions and raising awareness about the situation in Belarus.

Last year, Protasevich and Putilo were accused by Belarusian authorities of a number of crimes including organising mass riots.

Mr Protasevich left the Nexta project last year.

Following the incident, Latvia-based regional airline airBaltic has said it was avoiding Belarusian airspace.

AirBaltic "decided to avoid entering Belarus airspace until the situation becomes clearer or a decision is issued by the authorities," the company said in a statement.

"The safety and health of our passengers and employees is the main priority for the airline," it said, adding that it would "closely monitor the situation".

The airline said that in line with a recommendation from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency so far two of its flights - to Ukraine and Georgia - had been re-routed to avoid Belarusian airspace.

Lithuania and Latvia were among countries which called for all international flights to avoid Belarusian airspace as a sanction against Belarusian authorities.

 

[Melodi]

This is the owner of Irish Based Ryan Air...
Michael O'Leary says diversion of Ryanair plane was 'state-sponsored hijacking'
O’Leary also said it appears there were some KGB agents on board the flight.
2 hours ago 24,779 Views 18 Comments Share53 Tweet Email
Ryanair Chief Executive Officer Michael O'LearyRyanair Chief Executive Officer Michael O'Leary
Image: PA
MICHAEL O’LEARY HAS said the forced diversion of a Ryanair flight to Belarus was a “state-sponsored hijacking”.

Belarus forcing a passenger plane carrying a wanted opposition activist to divert and land in its capital has provoked a furious outcry from world leaders who described it as an “act of state terrorism”.

Journalist Roman Protasevich (26) was detained on Sunday after Ryanair flight FR4978 was pulled from its Athens-to-Vilnius route and — accompanied by a Belarusian fighter jet — diverted to the capital city.

Ryanair CEO O’Leary today said it appears there were some KGB agents on board the flight.

Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, O’Leary said: “This was a case of state-sponsored hijacking, state-sponsored piracy. I can’t say much about it because the EU authorities and NATO are dealing with it at the moment.”

He said: “It appears the intent of the authorities was to remove a journalist and his travelling companion. We believe there were some KGB agents offloaded at the airport as well.”

O’Leary said the incident was “very frightening” for passengers and crew members who were held under armed guard and had their bags searched.

“We’re debriefing our crew, who did a phenomenal job to get that aircraft and almost all the passengers out of Minsk after six hours,” he added.

Ryanair released a statement on the incident last night. However, the statement fails to mention that five or six people didn’t get back on the plane: Protasevich and his girlfriend, who were detained, and others who people suspect were KGB secret service agents.

It states: “The crew on a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius today (23 May) were notified by Belarus ATC of a potential security threat on board and were instructed to divert to the nearest airport, Minsk.

RELATED READ

24.05.21
Russian secret service agents may have been on diverted Ryanair flight, Coveney says
“The aircraft landed safely and passengers were offloaded while security checks were completed by local authorities.

“Nothing untoward was found and authorities cleared the aircraft to depart together with passengers and crew after approx. 7hrs on the ground in Minsk.”

The company added that is “has notified the relevant national and European safety and security agencies and we apologise sincerely to all affected passengers for this regrettable delay, which was outside Ryanair’s control”.

Possible Russian involvement

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland today, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said it’s not yet clear if Russia was involved.

“I don’t know for sure but what we do know is when the plane land either five or six people [didn't get back on].

#OPEN JOURNALISM No news is bad news Support The Journal Your contributions will help us continue to deliver the stories that are important to you
SUPPORT US NOW
“Only one or two people were actually arrested so that certainly would suggest that a number of the other people who left the plane were secret service. We don’t know from what country, but clearly linked to the Belarusian regime.”

Coveney called the incident “effectively a state kidnapping” and “aviation piracy”. He said there needs to be a “very clear signal from European leaders” that what happened is not acceptable.

“There needs to be an independent and international inquiry into what happened, but in advance of that I think there needs to be a very clear signal from European leaders, as soon as this evening, that this is something that simply can’t be tolerated.”

Short URL

Michael O'Leary says diversion of Ryanair plane was 'state-sponsored hijacking'

O’Leary also said it appears there were some KGB agents on board the flight.

jrnl.ie

 

[Melodi]

From the BBC

Western powers voice outrage as Belarus accused of hijacking plane

The EU considers sanctions after Belarus forced a plane carrying a dissident journalist to land.

www.bbc.com

:Western powers voice outrage as Belarus accused of hijacking plane
Published5 minutes ago
Share
Related Topics
Belarusian presidential election 2020

media captionPassengers on the plane described what happened after it was diverted to Minsk
Western countries have condemned Belarus for diverting a plane flying over its territory to arrest a Belarusian opposition journalist.

EU leaders are due to discuss their response to what the union's executive called a "hijacking" and the US state department said was "a shocking act".

Belarus scrambled a fighter jet to force the plane - bound for Lithuania - to land, claiming a bomb threat.

Police came and took Roman Protasevich away when passengers disembarked.

The 26-year-old was aboard the Ryanair plane, which was flying from the Greek capital, Athens. The aircraft was due to land in Vilnius, but was still in Belarusian airspace when it was told to divert it to their own capital, Minsk.

Witnesses said the activist was "super-scared" and told fellow passengers he would face the death penalty - Belarus is the only European country that still executes prisoners.

State media in Belarus said President Alexander Lukashenko had personally given the order for the move. The plane landed in Vilnius more than six hours after its scheduled arrival.

Lukashenko: Europe's longest-serving ruler
'If you croak we don't care': Brutality in Belarus

Since winning a disputed election last August, 66-year-old Mr Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, has cracked down on dissenting voices. Many opposition figures have been arrested while others fled into exile.

The incident drew sharp condemnation from across the European Union, with countries urging the immediate release of Mr Protasevich and a full investigation.

Police officers detain a journalist Roman Protasevich attempting to cover a rally in Minsk, Belarus, 26 March 2017
IMAGE COPYRIGHTEPA
image captionRoman Protasevich, seen here in 2017, was arrested after the plane landed in Minsk

Dozens of Belarusian officials, including President Lukashenko, are already under EU sanctions including travel bans and assets freezes, imposed in response to the repression on opponents.

How was the flight diverted?
Flight FR4978 turned east to Minsk shortly before it reached the Lithuanian border. Greece and Lithuania put the number of passengers on board at 171.

In a statement, Irish carrier Ryanair said the crew had been "notified by Belarus (Air Traffic Control) of a potential security threat on board and were instructed to divert to the nearest airport, Minsk".

But Tadeusz Giczan - the editor of Nexta, the media outlet Mr Protasevich used to work for - tweeted that agents from Belarusian security service the KGB had boarded the plane and were the source of the bomb alert.

Map
1px transparent line
Franak Viacorka, a friend and associate of Mr Protasevich, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the journalist "already felt something bad" in Athens airport because he had seen that someone was following him.

Some passengers described seeing Mr Protasevich looking nervous as the incident unfolded. "He just turned to people and said he was facing the death penalty," Monika Simkiene told AFP news agency.

Another passenger told Reuters news agency that Mr Protasevich had opened an overhead locker after they were told of the diversion, pulled out a laptop and a phone and gave them to a female companion.

Mr Viacorka said the woman, who was Mr Protasevich's girlfriend and was arrested with him, was "not involved at all in anything, but they will be pursuing her because she's a close person to him". She has been named as Sofia Sapega, a Russian citizen.

"This was a case of state-sponsored hijacking... state-sponsored piracy," Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary told Irish Newstalk radio on Monday.

"It appears the intent of the authorities was to remove a journalist and his travelling companion... we believe there were some KGB agents offloaded at the airport as well," Mr O'Leary said.

How will the West respond?
EU leaders are expected to discuss the incident at a summit in Brussels later on Monday. Nato ambassadors are due to meet on Tuesday.

A package of measures being worked on includes a ban on overflights of Belarus, a ban on entry to European airports by national carrier Belavia and a suspension of ground transport links, Reuters news agency quoted French officials as saying.

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. He told the BBC this "could make a larger impact on the behaviour of the Belarusian regime".

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said actions not words, and sanctions with "a real edge" were needed.

"We cannot allow this incident to pass on the basis of warnings or strong press releases," he told state broadcaster RTE.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Mr Protasevich had been arrested "on the basis of a ruse" and called for his immediate release.

Why would Mr Protasevich have been targeted?
Mr Protasevich is a former editor of Nexta, a media operation with a Telegram channel. He left Belarus in 2019 to live in exile in Lithuania. From there he covered the events of the 2020 presidential election, after which he was charged with terrorism and inciting riots.

Nexta played a key role for the opposition during the vote, which was won by Mr Lukashenko and is widely regarded as rigged. It has continued to do so in its aftermath, particularly with the government imposing news blackouts.

But he first attracted the attention of the authorities as a teenager, being expelled from school after taking part in a protest in 2011.

Mr Protasevich now works for a different Telegram channel, Belamova. He stepped in to write for it after blogger Igor Losik was arrested by the Belarusian authorities in June last year.

He was in Athens to attend an economic conference along with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the opposition leader who claimed victory in the election. She too now lives in exile in Lithuania.

 

[Melodi]

Belarus KGB believed to be on plane forced to land in Minsk, says Ryanair CEO

Michael O’Leary made comments as EU, US and UK consider action against act of ‘air piracy’

www.theguardian.com

Belarus KGB believed to be on plane forced to land in Minsk, says Ryanair CEO
Michael O’Leary made comments as EU, US and UK consider action against act of ‘air piracy’

Belarus seizes blogger after 'hijacking' Ryanair flight – video report
Andrew Roth in Moscow
Mon 24 May 2021 10.05 BST

332
Ryanair’s CEO has said he believes that agents of the Belarusian KGB were travelling on the plane that was diverted to Minsk on Sunday, as EU leaders prepared to meet to discuss what action to take against Belarus.

Belarusian police arrested opposition blogger Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, after forcing their Ryanair flight to land in the Belarusian capital, sparking outrage from European leaders, who have called the plane’s grounding a hijacking and act of “air piracy”.

In an interview on Newstalk Breakfast, Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary, said that “it appears the intent of the authorities was to remove a journalist and his travelling companion … we believe there were some KGB agents offloaded at the airport as well”.

O’Leary’s remarks were the first official confirmation of reports that four other passengers had disembarked in Minsk after the emergency landing, driving speculation that Protasevich was being shadowed by the security services before the plane was forced to land. O’Leary said he believed it was the first time such an incident had taken place with a European airline.

On Monday, it was revealed that Sapega, a Russian citizen studying at the European Humanities University (EHU) in Lithuania, was forced off the flight along with Protasevich, whom Belarusian authorities have accused of fomenting the mass protests last year against the president, Alexander Lukashenko.

They were flying from Athens to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, when the plane was diverted to Minsk. Protasevich, a former editor of the influential Telegram channels Nexta and Nexta Live, was detained by police in Minsk after Lukashenko ordered his military to scramble a Mig-29 fighter to meet the plane.

Passengers on board said that Protasevich began handing his phone and other personal items to Sapega when he learned that the flight would be making an emergency landing.

Neither Minsk nor Moscow have publicly confirmed Sapega’s arrest and it is not clear if she has been charged with a crime. EHU has demanded the release of Sapega, saying that she was detained by the Minsk Investigative Committee on “groundless and made-up conditions”. She was preparing to defend her master’s thesis in Vilnius, the university said.


European leaders will meet on Monday to discuss what action could be taken against Belarus.

Latvia and Lithuania said the airspace over Belarus should be considered unsafe, with Latvia’s foreign minister, Edgars Rinkēvičs, saying it should be closed to all international flights. Lithuanian police said it had launched a pre-trial investigation into “forced disappearance”.

Dominic Raab, the UK foreign secretary, said: “We are coordinating with our allies. This outlandish action by Lukashenko will have serious implications.”

On Sunday evening, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the US was demanding Protasevich’s immediate release.

“This shocking act perpetrated by the Lukashenka regime endangered the lives of more than 120 passengers, including US citizens,” a statement said. “Initial reports suggesting the involvement of the Belarusian security services and the use of Belarusian military aircraft to escort the plane are deeply concerning and require full investigation.”


Last year Nexta broadcast footage of mass protests against Lukashenko via the Telegram messenger app at a time when it was hard for foreign media to do so. Protasevich is accused by the Belarusian authorities of organising mass riots and of inciting social hatred, allegations he denies.

“I’m facing the death penalty here,” a trembling Protasevich reportedly told a fellow passenger from the plane before he was led away by Belarusian police. The mass unrest charges against him carry a sentence of up to 15 years. His current whereabouts is not known.

Simon Coveney, the foreign minister of Ireland, where Ryanair is based, welcomed Von der Leyen’s comments, adding: “EU inaction or indecision will be taken as weakness by Belarus.”

The European Council president, Charles Michel, condemned the plane’s forced landing in the “strongest possible terms”.

“I call on Belarus authorities to immediately release the detained passenger and to fully guarantee his rights,” Michel said, warning the incident would “not remain without consequences”.

Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said the incident was “serious and dangerous” and required an international investigation.

Tom Tugendhat, the chair of the UK foreign affairs select committee, said: “If aircraft can be forced to the ground … in order to punish the political opponents of tyrants, then journalists here in the UK, politicians anywhere in Europe will find it harder to speak out.”

Data from the flightradar24.com website showed the plane was diverted just two minutes before it was due to cross into Lithuanian airspace. After seven hours on the ground, the plane took off and finally landed in Vilnius where Lithuanian prime minister, Ingrida Šimonytė, was waiting to meet the passengers. “This is a completely unprecedented situation you have had to face,” she told the passengers.

The EU has already imposed sanctions on nearly 60 Belarusian officials, including Lukashenko and his son Victor, over accusations of elections fraud and then a heavy-handed crackdown on protesters that included widespread reports of brutal torture in Belarusian jails. Minsk has increasingly turned to Moscow for support, isolating it from the west but also limiting the effect of possible sanctions from Brussels or Washington.

 

[Melodi]

Global aviation stunned by Belarus jetliner diversion

BELARUS-POLITICS/ICAO (UPDATE 2, PIX):UPDATE 2-Global aviation stunned by Belarus jetliner diversion

news.trust.org

Global aviation stunned by Belarus jetliner diversion
by Reuters
Sunday, 23 May 2021 22:37 GMT
ABOUT OUR HUMANITARIAN CRISES COVERAGE
From major disaster, conflicts and under-reported stories, we shine a light on the world’s hotspots
Share:


By Tim Hepher

PARIS, May 23 (Reuters) - The United Nations' aviation agency said it was "strongly concerned" by the apparent forced landing of a Ryanair jetliner in Belarus, as global airlines called for an investigation into Sunday's rare incident.

Aviation leaders reacted with shock after Belarus scrambled a fighter and flagged what turned out to be a false bomb alert to force a Ryanair jet to land, before detaining an opposition-minded journalist who had been on board.

The UN's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said the incident may have contravened a core aviation treaty, part of the international order created after World War Two.

"ICAO is strongly concerned by the apparent forced landing of a Ryanair flight and its passengers, which could be in contravention of the Chicago Convention," it said.

"We look forward to more information being officially confirmed by the countries and operators concerned."

Airlines joined a flurry of government protests.

"We strongly condemn any interference or requirement for landing of civil aviation operations that is inconsistent with the rules of international law," said the International Air Transport Association.

"A full investigation by competent international authorities is needed."

Aviation experts said the rare incident could fuel debate over the resilience of a decades-old system of cooperation.

ICAO has no regulatory power, but sits at the centre of a system of safety and security standards that keep most airways open across political barriers. These are managed through the Montreal agency by its 193 member states, including Belarus.

KEY CORRIDOR

"It looks like a gross abuse of the (Chicago) Convention. It's piracy," Kevin Humphreys, a former Irish aviation regulator, told Reuters.

He added he would "not be surprised" if some airlines skirted Belarus airspace while they awaited more details, but stressed each would make its own threat assessment.

"People in the industry will be worried," he added.

Belarus is an important corridor between Europe and Moscow or southeast Asia and Europe, according to Flightradar 24.

Lawyers say Sunday's flight was emblematic of a tangle of jurisdictions that share a delicate co-existence in aviation - involving a Polish-registered jet flown by an Irish group between EU nations Greece and Lithuania, over non-EU Belarus.

Under the 1944 Chicago Convention, each country has sovereignty over its own airspace, though the treaty prohibits any use of civil aviation that may endanger safety.

But the right to overfly other countries is enshrined in a side treaty called the International Air Services Transit Agreement, of which Belarus is not listed as a member. Non-treaty members grant overflights according to varying rules.

A separate 1971 treaty that includes Belarus outlaws the seizure of aircraft or knowingly communicating false information in a way that endangers aircraft safety.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said it was "monitoring the situation from the safety perspective."

It is not the first time an abrupt diversion has fuelled diplomatic tensions, but the first in memory that a commercial flight governed by civil treaties is involved, Humphreys said.

In 2013, Bolivia said President Evo Morales' plane had been diverted on a flight from Russia and forced to land in Austria over suspicions - later denied - that former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, wanted by Washington for divulging secret details of U.S. surveillance activities, was on board. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Additional reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Alexander Smith, Timothy Heritage and Diane Craft)

 

[Samuel Adams]

And yeah, both Putin and Biden have been absent on this topic and that is so not good...

For entirely different reasons absent, I assure you.

Not saying that either of them are good, under the circumstances......

 

[Melodi]

OK this may be propaganda but it also could easily be true considering the situation, I'm posting this for the headline and the new information.

Roman Protasevich: Fears journalist arrested in Belarus has been tortured after Ryanair flight 'hijacked'

Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya tells Sky News: "We're really afraid, not only for his freedom but for his life."

news.sky.com

Roman Protasevich: Fears journalist arrested in Belarus has been tortured after Ryanair flight 'hijacked'
Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya tells Sky News: "We're really afraid, not only for his freedom but for his life."

Greg Heffer
Political reporter @GregHeffer
Monday 24 May 2021 12:02, UK

• ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO
• BELARUS
• DOMINIC RAAB
• ROMAN PROTASEVICH

Play Video - Detained journalist 'is being tortured'

Detained journalist 'is being tortured'
https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sha...been tortured after Ryanair flight 'hijacked'

There are fears for the life of a journalist who was arrested when his Ryanair flight was diverted to Belarus.
Roman Protasevich has been detained after his flight from Athens, Greece, was rerouted from its scheduled destination of Vilnius, in Lithuania, to Belarus capital Minsk on Sunday.

The 26-year-old has been described as a "private enemy" of Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko, who has clung to power after what are widely regarded as unfair elections last year.

Image:Roman Protasevich is desribed as a 'private enemy' of Belarus's president. Pic: Michal Fludra/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Speaking to Sky News on Monday, Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya expressed her fears for Mr Protasevich following his arrest and said that he may have been "tortured".

Ms Tsikhanouskaya outlined how Mr Lukashenko - dubbed "Europe's last dictator" - feels able to enjoy "impunity" as he continues his 26-year rule over Belarus.

And she called for "much wider" international sanctions on Mr Lukashenko's regime.
Ms Tsikhanouskaya was the main rival to Mr Lukashenko in last year's presidential election in Belarus.
More on Alexander Lukashenko

• Roman Protasevich: World leaders condemn Belarus after Ryanair flight is forced to land and journalist is arrested
• Who is Roman Protasevich? Blogger arrested on Ryanair flight as aircraft is forced to land in Minsk
• Roman Protasevich: Ryanair plane diverted to Belarus so 'opposition blogger could be arrested'
• 'Not your typical inmate' - The inspiring Belarus political prisoner who even the guards respect
• Myanmar coup: Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to ramp up pressure on military to step aside
• Belarus: Dominic Raab hits out at President Lukashenko after two UK diplomats expelled

She decided to stand in the election after her husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, was arrested days after announcing his intention to run.

Image:The Ryanair flight from Athens was forced to change direction and land in Minsk. Pic: Flightradar24

Describing how a lawyer was trying to get access to Mr Protasevich following his detention in Minsk, Ms Tsikhanouskaya said: "I'm sure that he's in awful circumstances, I'm sure that he's been tortured, because he knows a lot of information.

"He was a leader of one famous Telegram channel about civil society and the situation in Belarus.

"And he is considered to be a private enemy of Lukashenko. So we're really afraid, not only for his freedom but for his life."
The UK has demanded the immediate release of Mr Protasevich and other political prisoners being held in Belarus.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has also promised to work with international allies on a coordinated response to Mr Lukashenko's "outlandish actions", including possible further sanctions.

Latvia's airBaltic said it is closely monitoring the situation and has "decided to avoid entering Belarus airspace until the situation becomes clearer".

It added: "The safety and health of our passengers and employees is the main priority."
A Wizz Air flight to Tallinn in Estonia also appears to have gone around Belarus.
The airline has been contacted for comment.

Image:Pic: Flight Radar
Ms Tsikhanouskaya, who described Mr Lukashenko as Belarus's "ex-president", said Mr Protasevich's arrest was "the result of impunity".

"For nine months already we have been fighting against the regime after fraudulent elections, but the regime still feels impunity and you see they use such awful methods of kidnapping people," she said.

"We have to put much more pressure on this regime for them to stop violence and to release political prisoners."

She added international sanctions against the Belarus regime "has to be much, much wider" as she called for "more pressure" to force negotiations with Mr Lukashenko and new elections this year.

"In these circumstances when the whole country is against a regime, it's absolutely unbelievable that the regime will last long," she said.

"The only question is, how many victims will there be during this fight for freedom and for democracy?"
"I'm sure that these changes will come soon."

Image:Alexander Lukashenko has clung to power since disputed elections last year

Ryanair chief executive, Michael O'Leary, described the diversion of Mr Protasevich's flight to Minsk - which Belarus state media claimed was on the basis of a bomb threat - as "piracy" and "state-sponsored hijacking".

"It appears the intent of the authorities was to remove a journalist and his travelling companion... we believe there were some KGB agents offloaded at the airport as well," he told Irish radio.

Irish foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney echoed Mr O'Leary's charge, describing the act as "effectively state-sponsored aviation piracy".

"It was an Irish airline, a plane is registered in Poland, full of EU nationals, travelling between two EU capitals, flying through Belarusian airspace which would be absolutely normal," he told Irish broadcaster RTE.

"It was intercepted, there was a warning given to the pilots and crew that there was a security risk on board and then the plane was escorted by a military jet to Minsk airport, which was not the closest airport."

Image:Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is expected to update MPs later on Monday
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Mr Lukashenko's government of endangering the lives of those on board the aircraft and demanded a "full investigation".

Labour's shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News there had to be "robust consequences" for the action.
Among possible responses, she urged the government to consider fresh sanctions on the Belarus regime, to make Belarus airspace a no-fly zone, to block flights from the Belarus state-owned airline, and to summon the Belarus ambassador to explain their country's actions.

Mr Raab is expected to answer an urgent question on Mr Protasevich's arrest in the House of Commons later on Monday.

 

[Melodi]

Looks like US Citizens were on the plane, now DC is starting to notice - from zero hedge

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

"Shocking Act" Of "State Hijacking" Of Civilian Plane: US & EU Demand Belarusian Journalist's Immediate Release

BY TYLER DURDEN
SUNDAY, MAY 23, 2021 - 09:35 PM
update(9:30pm): It didn't take long for a flurry of condemnations from both EU and US officials in the hours after the Ryanair incident over Belarus, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for opposition journalist Raman Pratasevich's immediate release. Multiple EU leaders described Sunday's detention of Pratasevich after his commercial aircraft with 170 international passengers on board (including Americans, apparently) was diverted to Minsk complete with Belarusian MiG fighter escort as tantamount to "hijacking a civilian plane"...

"Hijacking of a civilian plane is an unprecedented act of state terrorism. It cannot go unpunished," Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Twitter.

And Greece's Foreign Ministry agreed (the aircraft had departed from Athens en route to Lithuania), calling the incident "state hijacking": "Greece strongly condemns the state hijacking that took place today and resulted in the forced landing of Ryanair FR 4978, which operated the Athens-Vilnius route, in Minsk, Belarus," the statement said.
Top EU officials were unanimous in their outrage and condemnation...

The US statement from Secretary Blinken underscored that there had been Americans on board:

"This shocking act perpetrated by the Lukashenka regime endangered the lives of more than 120 passengers, including U.S. citizens," he said late in the day Sunday.

"Initial reports suggesting the involvement of the Belarusian security services and the use of Belarusian military aircraft to escort the plane are deeply concerning and require full investigation," the US statement added.
But at the same time some are pointing to some not-so-distant history where US and European allies did essentially the same thing...

* * *
A bizarre and alarming incident which officials are calling unprecedented unfolded over the skies of Eastern Europe on Sunday. A Ryanair flight which had departed Athens and was en route to Vilnius - the capital of Lithuania - was forced to land in Belarus to allow state intelligence and security services to detain a journalist who's long been critical of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Bloomberg has identified the detained journalist is Raman Pratasevich, described as "the former editor-in-chief of the most popular Telegram news channel in Belarus" who was "arrested in the Minsk airport after the plane landed, according to the Minsk-based human rights center Viasna, which is not officially registered by the country’s authorities."

Neighboring Lithuania had earlier issued Pratasevich asylum after Belarusian authorities had put him on a "terror watch list" related to his journalistic activities, given the 26-year old blogger and activist helped spearhead last year's anti-Lukashenko demonstrations which at times shut down large parts of central Minsk following the disputed August 2020 election which resulted in prolonging the autocrat's rule to a sixth term (which will see him into three decades in power).
The journalist has been dubbed an "extremist" for his role in covering and participating in protests which officials also alleged there was a "foreign hand" behind which had covert NATO support. Pratasevich now faces a severe sentence - if he even goes to trial at all, with some supporters going so far as to suggest a possible death penalty case.
Astoundingly, Belarus' military had scrambled MiG fighter jets in order to divert the plane to Minsk. Bloomberg continues, "The plane, which was flying over Belarus en route to Lithuania, was escorted to Minsk by a MiG-29 fighter jet after a bomb threat, Belarusian state news agency Belta reported, citing the Minsk airport’s press service."

The bomb threat, however, is being widely perceived as but a ruse which ensured the plane would be on Belarusian soil in order to facilitate the controversial detention.
Germany's Deutsche Welle details:

An airport spokesperson told the agency that although authorities did not find any explosive devices on the plane, it was unclear when it would be allowed to take off again.
The opposition Telegram channel Nexta also reported that the plane was searched and that authorities detained the outlet's former editor, Roman Protasevich.
"The plane was checked, no bomb was found and all passengers were sent for another security search," said Nexta. "Among them was... Nexta journalist Roman Protasevich. He was detained."

Image via NEXTA
The episode is quickly gaining international attention and raising alarm in NATO and the European Union, with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda issuing a statement on Twitter condemning the "unprecedented" and "abhorrent" action of Lukashenko's government.

President Nauseda also said in a written statement released to international press agencies that: "I call on NATO and EU allies to immediately react to the threat posed to international civil aviation by the Belarus regime." He added, "The international community must take immediate steps that this does not repeat."

Also interesting will be the added pressure on both Belarus and Lukashenko-ally Putin over the brazen intervention in a foreign airline's flight path (Ryanair DAC is based in Ireland and did not immediately comment in the hours after the incident), given especially the two leaders are expected to meet again in Sochi this week, Rossiya-1 television reported.
Putin has been widely seen in the West as enabling Lukashenko's dictatorial rule, with Russian officials also seeing recent protests in the former Soviet satellite state as West-backed 'color revolution' activity fueled by external powers designed to expand NATO influence by seeking overthrow of Russia-friendly governments.

 

[Melodi]

This is from a long-long UK Daily Mail article that mostly just copies from every other article except for this tidbit. I'm not going to post the entire article as it is full of pictures and mostly just snatches from other news sources. But this bit, if this turns out to be real and again not Western Propaganda (and the West does it too) would make this an act of war and explain some of the United and Severe reactions here in Europe (and spreading).

Read entire article (and see pictures at)

Russia voices its APPROVAL of Ryanair hijacking

Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova mocked the Western indignation writing on Facebook she was 'shocked that the West calls the incident in Belarusian air space

www.dailymail.co.uk

Snip...

Aviation experts have claimed that Belarus threatened to shoot down the Athens to Vilnius Ryanair flight unless it did not land immediately (pictured: a MiG-29 fighter jet involved in the incident arriving back at base in Belarus). Their presence has stoked fears of Russian secret services involvement in a murky operation to arrest opposition journalist Roman Protasevich, 26, a passenger on the plane who was detained with his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, 23, in Minsk

 

[Melodi]

From about five pages down in the same article...

Russia voices its APPROVAL of Ryanair hijacking

Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova mocked the Western indignation writing on Facebook she was 'shocked that the West calls the incident in Belarusian air space

www.dailymail.co.uk

snip...
Moscow-based aviation expert Vadim Lukashevich said he too believed that a threat to shoot down the Ryanair flight had been made.

He said: 'To make it crystal clear - the pilots of the Ryanair plane that was forced to land in Belarus were pulling towards the destination Vilnius until the last possible moment.

'They had to turn back under the threat of a fighter jet when the distance to Vilnius airport was only 45 miles away and only 19 miles to the Lithuanian border.'

He claimed the Ryanair pilots were 'heading towards Lithuania without slowing down… they were escaping from the fighter jet, and they turned back just two minutes before crossing the Lithuanian border. '

Flightradar data showed the plane had not slowed to descend at the usual height on this route but appeared to be flying as fast as possible to the border - before abruptly turning back, seemingly on the orders of the MiG-29.

He is convinced that 'the fighter had permission to shoot', he said.

'And I am absolutely sure that the crew of the passenger aircraft turned around only after receiving a notification from the Belarusian fighter that, in case of disobedience, it would open fire before the passenger plane left the airspace of Belarus.'

....snip

 

[Millwright]

((shrug))

Nobody will do squat about it.

Some strongly worded condemnations and maybe sanctions.

In 30 days, this will be a historical footnote.

 

[Zagdid]

Russia calls West's reaction to Belarus plane incident 'shocking' (msn.com)


Russia calls West's reaction to Belarus plane incident 'shocking'
4 hrs ago

MOSCOW, May 24 (Reuters) - Russia on Monday accused the West of hypocrisy in its outraged response to the diversion of an airliner to the Belarusian capital Minsk.

Belarusian authorities scrambled a fighter jet and flagged what turned out to be a false bomb alert to force a Ryanair plane to land on Sunday, then detained a dissident journalist who was on board. There was condemnation from European countries, the United States and NATO.

"It is shocking that the West calls the incident in Belarusian airspace 'shocking'," Foreign Ministry spokewoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Facebook.

"Either (they) should be shocked by ... the forced (landing) in Austria of the Bolivian president's plane at the request of the United States ... Or (they) should not be shocked by similar behavior by others."

Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Anton Kolodyazhnyy

 

[Melodi]

((shrug))

Nobody will do squat about it.

Some strongly worded condemnations and maybe sanctions.

In 30 days, this will be a historical footnote.

You may be correct, but I think at least in the short term some things will happen. The degree of anger on this side of the water is like something I have never seen in 27 years of living over here (England, Sweden, Ireland) except for a few days after 9/11 and that was common throughout the world.

At the very least expect the recall of all ambassadors to Belarus with their own probably expelled, a temporary ban on flights over Belarus air space, a possible ban on flights going to and from the country, and the freezing of assets, contracts, exports, or anything going into the country.

I don't know if things will go further than that, but they could and they might; especially if there turns out to be some sort of "Smoking Gun" that actually "proves" Russian involvement, not just rumors and "it looks like."

 

[Red Baron]

Not clear yet if any Americans were on board?

 

[Millwright]

If it's proven that Putin is involved, expect even less of a response.

He will flip the bird to the EU and slam a shot of vodka.

 

[Red Baron]

The Washington Post, unsurprisingly, is planting the seeds of political cover for our current regime,

Fair Use Cited
-----------
If Belarus believed the Ryanair flight was a threat, it had authority to make it land. That’s a big if.

Global rules give countries ‘complete and exclusive sovereignty’ over their airspace but also expect them not to manufacture threats

By Ashley Nunes
May 23, 2021 at 4:27 p.m. CDT
Earlier Sunday, a commercial jet — scheduled to fly from Greece to Lithuania — made an emergency landing in Belarus. The intended destination of the Ryanair flight was Vilnius. Passengers and crew members ended up in Minsk instead. Radar data shows the plane flying through Belarusian airspace headed toward Lithuania. As the plane approaches the Lithuanian border, however, it makes a sharp right turn and heads toward the Belarusian capital.

Belarusian state media outlets say the diversion was prompted by a bomb scare, which caused local authorities to scramble a military jet to escort the plane to Minsk. After the plane landed, passengers and crew members underwent additional security screening and were subject to “verification activities.” Luggage and personal items were also subject to additional security checks.

more,

Belarus forced a Ryanair flight carrying a dissident to land - The Washington Post

 

[Melodi]

Not clear yet if any Americans were on board?

Just what I posted so far and I think Blinken is supposed to have said there were (the only thing I've seen from the USA so far) so it seems likely.

It would be rare for a plane from Greece with 170 people on it flying into another part of the EU not to have at least a few Americans on board, though they are likely either ex-pats or employees of US companies based in Europe (or duel citizens).