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

[Melodi]

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

Fair Use Cited
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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

Rut roh, this looks like a first attempt by the US "machine" to try and blow things off, again while this may die down, I have NEVER seen people and countries this angry over here in my life.

Since parts of the EU are dependent on Russian Gas and Oil it may be that in the end nothing much is done but I wouldn't count on that either. A lot depends on just how this is handled and I'm going to be very interesting to see the outcome of the two meetings the EU today and NATO tomorrow.

Again, no one over here seems to believe the "bomb threat" story and even it was true, the normal procedure would have been to radio the airport in Vilnius to prepare a special landing site because the plane was a LOT CLOSER to Vilnius than it was to Minsk.

There is also the issue of was the "threat to blow up the plane" recorded officially or not, if there is a recording of the fighter jet doing so, all bets are off.

 

[Melodi]

And it gets even more interesting...

Ryanair flight sent '20 departure delay messages'

Ryanair Flight 4978 sent 20 departure delay messages while it was on the ground in Minsk, according to an internal report by the European air traffic management organisation, seen by RTÉ News.

www.rte.ie

Ryanair flight sent '20 departure delay messages'
Updated / Monday, 24 May 2021 14:52

Ryanair Flight 4978 pictured while it was on the ground in Minsk
By Tony Connelly
Europe Editor

Ryanair Flight 4978 sent 20 departure delay messages while it was on the ground in Minsk.

That is according to an internal report by the European air traffic management organisation, seen by RTÉ News.

The messages indicate that it was "not ready or allowed" to leave the Belarusian capital after it was forced into an emergency landing yesterday.

The report by Eurocontrol shows that the Boeing 737-800, en route from Athens to Vilnius, was forced to land in Minsk at 10.30am UTC and was not able to depart until 18.26pm.

The original departure time of the Ryanair flight in resuming its journey towards Vilnius was filed by the aircraft at 11.16am, with an estimated departure time of 11.30am.

However, the report states: "20 departure delay messages [were] received for the flight indicating that the flight was not ready or allowed to depart from Minsk."

Eurocontrol confirms that there were 117 passengers on board and five "did not continue to Vilnius".

One of the five, the Belarusian opposition blogger Roman Protasevich, was extracted from the flight and arrested.

The Eurocontrol report suggests that Belarus could be in contravention of Articles 3 and 4 of the Chicago Convention.

Read more
Forced Ryanair landing a 'state-sponsored coercive act' - Taoiseach
EU summons Belarusian ambassador over forced plane landing

Article 3.2 states that contracting parties recognise that "every State must refrain from resorting to the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight and that, in case of interception, the lives of persons on board and the safety of aircraft must not be endangered".

Article 4 obliges signatories "not to use civil aviation for any purpose inconsistent with the aims of this Convention".

The Eurocontrol report says there were 20 arrivals and departures expected to and from EU airports to Belarus today.

These include flights to and from Helsinki, Charleroi, Amsterdam, Riga, Tallinn, Amsterdam, Milan, Warsaw and Vilnius.

This would amount to between 40 and 60 flights through EU airspace to and from Belarus, depending on the routes used.

The report estimates that some 64 flights by the state carrier Belavia were expected in Eurocontrol airspace.

Belavia also operates scheduled flights to Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Hannover, Paris, Budapest, Prague, Rome, Larnaca, Stockholm, Barcelona and Vienna.

In all, Lufthansa operates five flights a week from Frankfurt. Polish airline LOT has seven flights per week from Warsaw, while Air Baltic operates two flights per week from Riga.

The Eurocontrol report said that a number of EU airlines en route to Asia overfly Belarusian airspace due to the closure of the eastern part of Ukraine.

Over a seven-day period, there were 2,915 flights overflying Belarusian airspace to, from, or through EU airspace, the report shows.

Of those, 350 have been operated by EU carriers and 419 by the Belarus national carrier.

 

[Melodi]

More information gradually leaking out...

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

EU summons Belarusian ambassador over forced plane landing
Updated / Monday, 24 May 2021 14:41

Authorities in Belarus 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 European Union has summoned the Belarusian ambassador to condemn the "inadmissible" forced landing of an airliner and detention of a critical journalist.

An EU statement said: "Ambassador (Aleksandr) Mikhnevich was informed of the firm condemnation by the EU institutions and EU Member States of the coercive act by which the Belarusian authorities have jeopardised the safety of passengers and crew."

Officials "conveyed the EU's position that the outrageous action by Belarusian authorities constitute another blatant attempt to silence all opposition voices in the country and demanded the immediate release" of Roman Protasevich, the statement said.

The EU 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 will also 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."

Earlier, authorities in Belarus 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.

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
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 that called for all international flights to avoid Belarusian airspace as a sanction against Belarusian authorities.

 

[Melodi]

From the passengers...

Belarus Ryanair flight diverted: Passengers describe panic on board

The plane changed course as it neared its destination leaving passengers shocked and confused.

www.bbc.com

Belarus Ryanair flight diverted: Passengers describe panic on board
Published3 hours ago
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media captionRyanair boss Michael O'Leary claims there were KGB security agents on the flight.
Passengers on board a Ryanair flight that was suddenly diverted as it began its descent into Vilnius, Lithuania, have described their panic as they changed course with no explanation.

Flight FR4978 was bound for Lithuania from Greece when it was forced to switch direction for the Belarusian capital Minsk on Sunday so the authorities there could arrest dissident journalist Roman Protasevich, 26.

The pilot announced the emergency diversion, but provided no details.

The plane was then accompanied by a fighter jet that had been scrambled to guide it to Minsk.

In the moments beforehand, everything had been calm and nothing had appeared out of the ordinary.

A sudden dive and fears of a crash
"We all on the plane had panicked because we thought we were going to crash," Lithuanian passenger Raselle Grigoryeva told broadcaster ABC News.

"This was a sudden dive, changing the altitude very drastically. It was very violent. I've never felt this on an airplane. Everybody was in shock," she said.

Flight FR4978 had turned east to Minsk just before it had reached the Lithuanian border.

Map
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Belarus had cited a bomb threat as why the flight needed to change, but the claim turned out to be false.

Journalist Protasevich 'scared' and 'trembling'
Another Lithuanian passenger, named only as Mantas, told Reuters news agency that the moment the pilot announced the flight was being diverted to Minsk, Mr Protasevich stood up and opened an overhead locker containing his luggage.

"[He] took the luggage, and was trying to split things, like the computer he gave to his girlfriend," Mantas said. "I think he made a mistake. There were plenty of people so he could give the things to me or other passengers and not the girlfriend, who was also, I think, arrested."

Passengers of Ryanair flight FR4978 arrive at Vilnius airport
IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS
image captionLithuanian passenger Mantas (centre, front) said Mr Protasevich "made a mistake" giving his laptop to his girlfriend
Mantas added that he witnessed security forces at Minsk airport using sniffer dogs to search Mr Protasevich's luggage.

One passenger, who was not named, said officers had used physical force when arresting the journalist and that he appeared "super-scared", adding: "I looked at him directly into his eyes and he was very sad."

Passenger Edvinas Dimsa, 37, told AFP that it was clear that Mr Protasevich was "very much afraid". "It looked like if the window had been open, he would have jumped out of it."

image captionMr Protasevich was charged with terrorism and inciting riots after covering the events of the 2020 Belarus presidential election (file photo)

Another passenger told Lithuania's Delfi news that while Mr Protasevich remained relatively calm, he was visibly trembling when he left the plane, with officers around him "all the time".

"We asked him what was going on... he said: 'The death penalty awaits me here.'"

Others described how Mr Protasevich had immediately identified himself to officers, who then appeared to confiscate his passport.

Passengers held in Minsk for hours without info
The remaining passengers were kept at Minsk airport for hours as their luggage and paperwork were checked.

"We were eight hours there. We didn't get any information what happened, only what we could find on the internet," one passenger told Reuters.

A young woman stands with a poster reading: "I am, we are Roman Protasevich" and the Belarus flag as passengers disembark from a Ryanair passenger plane from Athens, Greece
IMAGE COPYRIGHTPETRAS MALUKAS/GETTY IMAGES
image captionSupporters of Mr Protasevich await him at Vilnius airport with a sign reading: "I am, we are Roman Protasevich"
Ryanair flight FR4978 finally landed in Vilnius at about 21:30.

Mr Protasevich is a former editor of media 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 Belarus presidential election, after which he was charged with terrorism and inciting riots.

 

[Melodi]

Sure it did, and I have a bridge to sell you in San Francisco...

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

Bomb threat against plane came from 'Hamas' - Belarus
Updated / Monday, 24 May 2021 16:07

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

A senior Belarus transport official has said that the country had received a bomb threat claiming to be from Hamas ahead of the diversion of a Ryanair passenger flight carrying a dissident.

Artem Sikorsky, the head of the aviation department at the transport and communications ministry, read out a letter to journalists that said: "We, the soldiers of Hamas, demand that Israel ceasefire in the Gaza Strip."

He said the group demanded that the "European Union renounces its support for Israel in this war" and if it did not fulfill their demands: "The bomb will explode over Vilnius on May 23".

Speaking at a press briefing, the Belarusian air force chief Igor Golub said the captain of the flight independently made the decision to land in Minsk.

"The decision was made by the captain without outside interference," Mr Golub said.

He added that the aircraft could have also chosen to go to Ukraine or Poland.

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

The EU also summoned the Belarusian ambassador to condemn the "inadmissible" the forced landing and detention of journalist Roman Protasevich.

An EU statement said: "Ambassador (Aleksandr) Mikhnevich was informed of the firm condemnation by the EU institutions and EU Member States of the coercive act by which the Belarusian authorities have jeopardised the safety of passengers and crew."

Officials "conveyed the EU's position that the outrageous action by Belarusian authorities constitute another blatant attempt to silence all opposition voices in the country and demanded the immediate release" of Mr Protasevich, the statement said.

The EU 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.

Passengers finally arrive in Vilnius
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."

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.



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 detained journalist Roman 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.

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
Following yesterday's 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 that called for all international flights to avoid Belarusian airspace as a sanction against Belarusian authorities.

 

[Melodi]

Expect this to go EU-wide by this evening...next on the list is probably forbidding Belursian flights from landing anywhere in the UK and possibly from flying over UK airspace.

UK planes told to cease flying over Belarus after blogger arrest

Britain summons country’s ambassador as operating permit of Belarus state airline suspended

www.theguardian.com

UK planes told to cease flying over Belarus after blogger arrest
Britain summons country’s ambassador as operating permit of Belarus state airline suspended

The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, speaking in the Commons on Monday. Photograph: Associated Press

Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor
Mon 24 May 2021 16.28 BST

The British government has told all UK planes to cease flying over Belarus and summoned the country’s ambassador amid outrage over the arrest of an opposition blogger and his girlfriend when their Ryanair flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Minsk.

The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, described the act as a “reckless, cynical and dangerous hijacking of a Ryanair flight by Belarus government” and said further sanctions were being considered against Belarus. The operating permit for Belavia, the country’s state-owned airline, has also been suspended in the UK.

The UK response comes ahead of a meeting of EU leaders on Monday evening that could take measures against Belarus including banning Belavia from EU airports and suspending all Belarusian flights over UK territory.


‘They will kill me’: Belarusian blogger’s descent into horror
Read more
In a statement on Monday morning on behalf of the EU, Josep Borrell, the bloc’s high representative for foreign affairs, called for an international investigation into the incident and warned that those involved faced sanctions. “The EU will consider the consequences of this action, including taking measures against those responsible,” he said.

Raab told the Commons that Belarus’s ambassador had been summoned to provide an explanation and told MPs he was urgently seeing what further sanctions could be placed on Belarusian individuals and entities, but he stressed he wanted to act in coordination with allies, including the EU.

He also said the UK planned to raise the issue at the UN Security Council, the G7 world leaders summit and the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Raab said he had to be careful what he said but “it was very difficult to believe this particular action was not taken with the acquiescence of Russian authorities”. He stressed he did not have any direct intelligence on the issue at this stage.

He warned the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, “looked well dug in due to the protective umbrella of Russia”.
Raab’s initial package of measures in response was largely welcomed by Conserrvative MPs although some, including the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, Tom Tugendhat, raised the issue of trying to cut off strategic energy pipelines that keep the Belarus economy afloat.

Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega 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.

Ryanair said Belarusian flight controllers told the pilots there was a bomb threat against the jet and ordered them to land in Minsk. Raab said Britain had seen no evidence to support the claim of a bomb threat.

Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, said he believed agents of the Belarusian KGB were travelling on the plane in 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 service.

“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 said.

 

[Melodi]

This is an editorial, note the concern towards the bottom of it that other nations will feel free to just force aircraft out of the sky if this is brushed off (and I think he's right).

Belarus ‘hijacking’ is test for international community

Analysis: ‘Air piracy’ is just latest act of Alexander Lukashenko’s brutal campaign against his opponents

www.theguardian.com

Belarus ‘hijacking’ is test for international community
Analysis: ‘Air piracy’ is just latest act of Alexander Lukashenko’s brutal campaign against his opponents


According to state media, Alexander Lukashenko personally authorised the forced downing of a Ryanair plane as it flew over Belarusian airspace.

Luke Harding
Mon 24 May 2021 15.29 BST

22
Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, has unleashed a brutal campaign against his opponents. More than 35,000 people have been arrested, thousands have been tortured or abused, and 400 political prisoners are currently behind bars. Earlier this week a 50-year-old opposition activist, Vitold Ashurok, died in a penal colony. The official cause of death was “heart attack”. His widow believes he was murdered.

It is against this dark and repressive backdrop that the extraordinary events of Sunday took place. According to state media, Lukashenko personally authorised the forced downing of a Ryanair plane as it flew over Belarusian airspace between Greece and Lithuania – a real-time hijacking. He even dispatched a MIG-29 fighter jet to ensure the pilot complied after being informed of a fake bomb threat.

The target of Lukashenko’s fury was a 26-year-old passenger and opposition blogger, Roman Protasevich. Protasevich is the co-founder of Nexta, a Telegram channel. Since last August’s presidential election, widely seen as rigged, it has reported on, and coordinated demonstrations against, the Belarus regime. These continue. Like other critics he had left Belarus for exile. And what he must have thought was the safety of the EU.

Protasevich was arrested when his plane landed in Minsk. His Russian girlfriend who was with him, Sofia Sapega, was detained too. Their whereabouts are unknown. The shocking incident has provoked widespread international condemnation and horror. On Monday Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, called it “air piracy”. Foreign ministers have dubbed it in-flight kidnapping, blatant “state terrorism” and sheer thuggery.

The dilemma for western governments is how to respond. According to Andrei Sannikov, a former Belarus presidential candidate imprisoned in 2010, the regime is not merely enacting the worst domestic crackdown in Belarus since its independence from the Soviet Union – beating up its own, as he put it. It poses a grave threat to other countries, he said. Most of the passengers on board – 171 of them – were EU citizens.

Sannikov described Lukashenko’s embattled Moscow-backed government as “absolutely insane”. “Yes, Lukashenko is a psychopath, a dangerous one,” he said. He added: “This is a test for the international community in general. The west has yet to find instruments and tools to deal with him. Maybe the hijacking will trigger something. These are not empty threats. Not even North Korea would do something like this.”

The hijacking raises the nightmarish prospect that Lukashenko may now carry out other special operations against critics living abroad. The head of Belarus’s KGB, Ivan Tsertsel, has promised to eliminate all “traitors to the motherland”. In April his colleague Gen Nikolai Karpenkov, head of internal forces, said participants in peaceful rallies would face “inevitable retribution” and be “treated as terrorists”. State TV has talked of Stalin-style killings.

Just a few hours before his plane was forcibly landed, Protasevich reported he was under surveillance at Athens airport. A Russian-speaking man dressed in a T-shirt and chinos stood behind him during boarding and tried to take photos of his ID, he said. At Minsk four passengers slipped off the plane and disappeared. They appear to be intelligence officers working for Belarus’s KGB. At least two reportedly had Russian passports.

If Russia had a role in the hijacking is unclear. Its FSB spy agency recently helped to arrest an opposition activist in Moscow accused of plotting a “coup” against Lukashenko and Russian state media has praised Belarus’s president for his “beautiful” and uncompromising move. The incident, some believe, will further estrange Belarus from Europe, to the Kremlin’s advantage.

Already it has having a chilling effect on other dissidents. Natalia Kaliada, co-founder of the Belarus Free Theatre, was due to meet Protasevich this week. She told the Guardian she spoke with the pilot and airline on Sunday after boarding a flight from London to Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. “The plane was put on alert. It avoided Belarus airspace. I’ve had multiple death threats since November and December,” she said.

In recent months the mass protests against Lukashenko have diminished. According to Sannikov, however, the regime is weaker than it seems, with Lukashenko reliant on his security forces. Behind the scenes there are defections and suicides, he said. “Lukashenko doesn’t control the state anymore or the economy or government. He’s only meeting with the men in uniform,” he added. “The protests may be less. But hatred of Lukashenko personally is growing. It’s leading to an explosion.”

According to Nigel Gould-Davies, Britain’s former ambassador in Minsk, the EU and UK should consult with the Belarus opposition co-ordinating committee before deciding on possible sanctions. “This isn’t only about Belarus,” he said. “If Belarus gets away with it other countries will likely be emboldened to have a malign interest in getting hold of people who have fled abroad.” Sunday’s events showed Lukashenko’s weakness, he pointed out, noting: “He can’t regain legitimacy.”

For Belarus’s embattled journalistic community, meanwhile, it has been a disastrous period. The country’s biggest non-state media outlet – the website tut.by – was shut down last week, with many of its staff rounded up and arrested. Currently 30 journalists are in prison. They now include Protasevich, who faces charges of organising mass riots and organising group activities which “violate public order”. It is enough to see him jailed for years.

 

[Dozdoats]

Power mad people in a mad mad world.

 

[Melodi]

So far this is a tweet but it was also posted on the BBC website - if true, it suggests torture and attempted murder on the part of the authorities, it won't surprise me if this man dies - if he does again, things are likely to get even worse. EU meeting is still ongoing as far as I know, most of the stuff leaking out is about what I expected - mostly severe economic sanctions for now, possibly an entire cut-off of air travel and/or planes to and from Belarus, also most nations avoiding their airspace with flights rerouted to avoid them.


https://twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan




Tadeusz Giczan

@TadeuszGiczan
·
45m


According to his mother, Roman Protasevich is in hospital in critical condition - heart disease.











Tadeusz Giczan

@TadeuszGiczan
·
16m


FYI, 3 days ago another Belarusian political prisoner – Witold Ashurok – has died of an alleged ‘heart disease’. His family last heard from him on 30 April, although previously they got letters from him every 10 days. Prison officials still refuse to hand his body over to family.

 

[Melodi]

A bit more but no further confirmation so far...from the BBC on-going article updated every few minutes

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-57233134

There's been no word about opposition journalist Roman Protasevich after he was taken off the Ryanair flight by Belarusian police. Witnesses said the activist was "super-scared" when he was detained, and told fellow passengers he would face the death penalty.

Now the editor of Nexta, the media outlet Mr Protasevich used to work for, has tweeted that "according to his mother, Roman Protasevich is in hospital in critical condition - heart disease".

The BBC has not verified this information. It is unknown if the 26-year-old previously suffered from heart problems.
On Friday, Belarusian political activist Vitold Ashurak reportedly died in prison of heart failure. The 50-year-old was jailed after taking part in demonstrations against President Lukashenko's disputed re-election in 2020. His wife reportedly said he had no history of heart problems.
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[danielboon]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1396847451575832577

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/Conflicts/status/1396847451575832577

 

[danielboon]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1396856231864815622

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/Global_Mil_Info/status/1396856231864815622

 

[danielboon]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1396857088773664770

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/Global_Mil_Info/status/1396857088773664770

 

[Melodi]

Thanks Daniel, I took a break to do a few things for a bit, this story is ongoing and things are moving quickly.

 

[Melodi]

And the EU meeting looks to continue on into the night - as I've said, this is much more serious than seems to be being reported in the US press but they are only likely to pick this up if the shooting starts if the US has an airliner kidnapped in the same way say by China, Russia or perhaps North Korea.

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

EU chief vows 'severe consequences' for Belarus
Updated / Monday, 24 May 2021 19:04

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen arriving at the summit

An EU leaders summit will produce a "strong answer" to Belarus' forcing down of an airliner to arrest a dissident journalist, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has said.

Speaking as the leaders arrived in Brussels, Ms von der Leyen said President Alexander Lukashenko "and his regime have to understand that this will have severe consequences.

"So tonight we will discuss options, different options of sanctions."

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the forced landing of the 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" as it meets this evening in Brussels.

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.

"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.


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."


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.





Read more:
EU summons Belarusian ambassador over forced plane landing
Ryanair flight sent '20 departure delay messages'

The EU Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union Mairead McGuinness said the EU will do everything it can to respond to the grounding of a Ryanair flight adding it will not remain silent.

Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, Commissioner McGuinness said "we cannot allow a dictator to kidnap a journalist off a flight and remain silent, and we will not remain silent, we will be taking action".

She said the EU has called for the immediate release of this journalist and said "it's an extremely serious situation from a human rights perspective".

She said "this is a very defining moment" for the EU, because of the audacious and illegal nature of what happened which she said was "quite shocking".

She said the EU has to act very strongly so its citizens know that they can be protected.

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

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, 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."


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 reboard 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
'State-sponsored hijacking'- O'Leary

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 targeted 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."

He said this incident is on the "upper end of the scale" in terms of something that needs a "very strong sanctions-based response".

'Outrageous and unacceptable' incident - Pilots association

Meanwhile, the Irish Airline Pilots Association has called for sanctions on the Belarus government following yesterday's incident.

IALPA President Captain Evan Cullen said it was outrageous and unacceptable that a sovereign state such as Belarus would apparently issue a false bomb threat in order to control a flight back into its own airspace.

"You cannot be telling pilots they could have a bomb on board or a possible security threat when it is actually a hoax, and what they are actually trying to do is to arrest one of the passengers," he said.

He said it was clear from the flight data that IALPA had looked at that the aircraft was about to leave Belarus airspace, and the Belarus government had "panicked somewhat" in trying to retrieve the aircraft for the passenger they were targeting.

Mr Cullen called for an EU-wide response, saying: "The EU should absolutely bring sanctions to bear on the Belarus government and make it clear to all rogue states that this type of behaviour is absolutely unacceptable, unsafe and there will be consequences for this behaviour."

He confirmed that pilots are trained to deal with security threats such as a potential bomb on board, but said it was unacceptable that a sovereign state would issue what appeared to be a false or hoax bomb threat.

 

[danielboon]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1396865349199532041

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/theragex/status/1396865349199532041

 

[northern watch]

Thanks Daniel, I took a break to do a few things for a bit, this story is ongoing and things are moving quickly.

Yes, thanks Daniel, I am happy to see that you are posting!

 

[Melodi]

EU imposes new economic sanctions on Belarus over ‘hijacked’ flight

Joe Biden welcomes EU moves as father of opposition blogger Raman Pratasevich says video confession appears forced

www.theguardian.com

Belarus put on notice of sanctions over ‘hijack’ of Ryanair flight
EU and UK to take other punitive measures as role of Russia in forced landing comes under scrutiny

.
Ryanair flight FR4978 parked at Minsk international airport on Sunday. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Daniel Boffey in Brussels and Andrew Roth in Moscow
Mon 24 May 2021 19.43 BST

The EU and Britain have put Belarus on notice of sanctions and punitive measures against its national airline as European flights over the country’s airspace were suspended in response to the detention of a dissident on a “hijacked” Ryanair flight.

Attention was also focusing on Russia’s role in the forced landing of flight FR4978 in Minsk as the UK’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, told the House of Commons it was unlikely to have been done without Kremlin approval.

Raab described the “reckless and dangerous” arrest of opposition blogger Roman Protasevich and his Russian girlfriend, Sofia Sapega as “a shocking assault on civil aviation and an assault on international law” as the government announced the suspension of the operating permit of Belavia, the country’s national airline.

On Monday evening, unconfirmed reports suggested Protasevich had been hospitalised in Minsk since his arrest because of heart problems and that he was now in a critical condition.


‘They will kill me’: Belarusian blogger’s descent into horror

Sunday’s incident was described by European council president Charles Michel as an “international scandal” that put “the lives of Europeans at risk”, as he arrived to chair a summit of the EU’s 27 heads of state and government on Monday evening.

Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, said the actions of the Belarus authorities were “without precedent”, describing attempts by Alexander Lukashenko’s regime to explain away the forced landing as a response to a Hamas bomb threat as “totally uncredible.”


Roman Protasevich, pictured in 2017, is reported to have been hospitalised in a critical state. Photograph: Reuter

European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, tweeted: “We will not leave this unanswered. Leaders will discuss options for additional sanctions.”

She said the sanctions would cover individuals involved in the hijacking, businesses that finance the Belarus regime and the aviation sector, but gave no further details.

“We will keep pressure on the regime until it respects the freedom of opinion and of the media. Roman Pratasevich must be released immediately,” she said.

As well as agreeing on sanctions to add to those imposed on nearly 60 Belarusian officials, including Lukashenko and his son Victor, the EU’s heads of state and government are expected to call on EU carriers to avoid Belarusian airspace and “to adopt the necessary measures to ban overflight of EU airspace by Belarusian airlines and prevent access to EU airports” in a major blow to the country’s national airline.

According to a leaked draft of a summit communique, the leaders will also call for the International Civil Aviation Organization to “urgently investigate this unprecedented and unacceptable incident”.

But as further details of the flight’s forced landing emerged on Monday, questions were being raised over the role of Russia – from where careful support has been offered to Lukashenko’s regime since Sunday.

Asked about possible Russian involvement, Raab told the Commons: “We don’t have any clear details on that and I’ll be careful on what I say at this point. But as he says it’s very difficult to believe that this kind of action could have been taken without at least the acquiescence of the authorities in Moscow, but as I say it’s unclear as yet.”

The US White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, had “raised our strong concerns” about Belarus’s action with his Kremlin counterpart.

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said the case “should be assessed without any haste and hurry and based on all information available”. He pointed to past incidents of Austria grounding a flight with Bolivian president Evo Morales on board in 2013 and Ukraine grounding a flight in 2016 as his foreign ministry issued a statement describing the EU’s response as “shocking”.

Protasevich and Sapega were flying from Athens to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, when the plane was diverted to Minsk minutes from leaving Belarusian air space in what Ryanair later described as an “act of aviation piracy”.

Protasevich, a former editor of the influential Telegram channels Nexta and Nexta Live, one of the main independent Belarusian media groups, was detained by police after Lukashenko ordered his military to scramble a Mig-29 fighter to meet the plane.

Passengers onboard said Protasevich began handing his phone and other personal items to Sapega, a Russian citizen studying at the European Humanities University (EHU) in Lithuania, when he learned that the flight would be making an emergency landing.

“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.

According to colleagues, Protasevich had sent them messages claiming he was being followed by a man in the departure lounge in Athens he suspected was a Belarusian KGB agent. The man was said to have been behind him in the queue to board and to have tried to take a photo of his documents before asking Protasevich a “stupid question” in Russian and leaving.


Passengers tell of panic and fear after plane diverted by Belarus
Read more
EHU has said Sapega had also been 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.

Russia on Monday confirmed that it had made contact with Sapega. According to the BBC Russian service, she managed to write a text message to her mother with just one word: “Mama”.

Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, said he believed that agents of the Belarusian KGB were travelling on the plane.

In an interview on Ireland’s Newstalk Breakfast show, the 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.

Arriving in Brussels, Ireland’s taoiseach Micheal Martin said the “forcing down” of the Ryanair plane had been “appalling reckless and unacceptable” and that he would encourage fellow leaders to deliver a “very firm and strong response”.

Belarus’s ambassadors across Europe, including in London, Berlin and Brussels, were summoned by their hosts on Monday for a dressing down over Sunday’s extraordinary events.

Raab said the episode would be raised when Britain hosts G7 leaders at a summit next month. “In reality we’ve got a number of levers but let’s not pretend they’re a silver bullet,” he said.

The EU holds a key role, however. While relations have deteriorated since Lukashenko cracked down on those protesting against what they believe was a rigged presidential election last August, Belarus remains part of the “Eastern Partnership” the EU has with six states close to Russia’s border designed to deepen relations.

Tensions in the region continued to escalate on Monday, however, as Minsk expelled the Latvian ambassador after officials in Riga raised a white-red-white flag in a central square in a show of solidarity with the Belarusian opposition. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy also announced that the country would halt air traffic with Belarus.

Minsk has blamed the west for the escalating tensions, calling the accusations over the incident “hasty and openly belligerent”.

“The situation is being intentionally politicised, and there are baseless accusations and labelling,” the Belarusian foreign ministry said in a statement.

 

[northern watch]

West slams Belarus over jet diversion, journalist arrest
Western outrage grew and the European Union threatened more sanctions against Belarus over its forced diversion of a plane to the capital of Minsk in order to arrest an opposition journalist

By RAF CASERT and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press
24 May 2021, 11:12

BRUSSELS -- Western outrage grew and the European Union threatened more sanctions Monday against Belarus over its forced diversion of a passenger jet to the capital of Minsk in order to arrest an opposition journalist in a dramatic gambit that some said amounted to state terrorism or piracy.

Ryanair said Belarusian flight controllers told the crew there was a bomb threat against the plane as it was crossing through Belarus airspace on Sunday and ordered it to land. A Belarusian MiG-29 fighter jet was scrambled to escort the plane in a brazen show of force by President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for over a quarter-century.

Belarus authorities then arrested passenger Raman Pratasevich, a 26-year-old activist, journalist and prominent critic who ran a popular messaging app that played a key role in helping organize massive protests against the authoritarian leader. Pratasevich and his Russian girlfriend were taken off the plane shortly after it landed, and authorities haven't said where they're being held. Ryanair Flight FR4978, which began in Athens, Greece, was eventually allowed to continue on to Vilnius, Lithuania.

U.S. President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident and National Security adviser Jake Sullivan raised the issue in his call with the secretary of the Russian Security Council, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. She added the administration condemned what she called the “shocking act” of diverting a flight to detain a journalist.

“It constitutes a brazen affront to international peace and security by the regime. We demand an immediate international, transparent and credible investigation of this incident,” she said, adding the U.S. was in touch with NATO, the EU, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, among others about next steps.

EU leaders were particularly forceful in their condemnation of the arrest and the move against the plane, which was flying between two of the bloc’s member nations and was being operated by an airline based in Ireland, also a member.

The bloc summoned Belarus' ambassador “to condemn the inadmissible step of the Belarusian authorities” and said in a statement the arrest was yet again “another blatant attempt to silence all opposition voices in the country."

President Gitanas Nauseda of Lithuania urged the EU to take “clear actions in order to change the pattern of behavior of this very dangerous regime,” and said a previously planned EU summit on Monday would assess whether to close its airspace to Belarus carriers, declare Belarusian airspace as unsafe and expand sanctions against Lukashenko's government.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the “unprecedented action" of the Belarusian authorities and demanded that Pratasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, be released immediately.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said “the scandalous incident in Belarus shows signs of state terrorism and it’s unbelievable," while EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it amounted to a “hijacking.”

EU leaders have tried to bring Belarus closer to the bloc — to encourage democratic reforms and reduce the influence of Russia — but have failed so far. Ahead of their summit, some EU leaders threatened more sanctions — from scrapping landing rights in the bloc for Belarus' national carrier Belavia to exclusions from sports events.

Without waiting for the EU, Latvia's airBaltic said it would avoid Belarusian airspace, and Lithuania’s government said it would instruct all flights to and from the Baltic country to avoid Belarus as well starting Tuesday.

British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he instructed the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority “to request airlines avoid Belarusian airspace in order to keep passengers safe.” He added he was suspending the permit allowing Belavia to operate in the U.K.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered officials to move to cut the air link with Belarus and ban Ukrainian flights via the neighbor's airspace.

The U.S. and the EU have imposed sanctions on top Belarusian officials amid months of protests, which were triggered by Lukashenko’s reelection to a sixth term in an August 2020 vote that the opposition rejected as rigged. More than 34,000 people have been arrested in Belarus since then, and thousands beaten.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry bristled at what it described as “belligerent” EU statements, insisting Minsk acted “in full conformity with international rules.”

It ordered all Latvian diplomats out of the country after the Belarusian flag was replaced Monday with the white-and-red one used by the opposition at the world ice hockey championship in Riga, Latvia. The event was moved from Minsk amid the international outcry over the crackdown.

Lufthansa said a flight from Minsk to Frankfurt with 51 people aboard was delayed Monday following a “security warning.” It was allowed to depart after the plane, passengers and cargo were searched.

On Sunday, flight tracker sites indicated the Ryanair flight was about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Lithuanian border when it was diverted. There were conflicting reports on what exactly happened.

Belarusian transport ministry official Artem Sikorsky said the Minsk airport had received an email about the bomb threat from the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Lukashenko's press service said he had ordered a fighter jet to accompany the plane after being told of the bomb threat. Deputy air force commander Andrei Gurtsevich told Belarusian state TV that the Ryanair crew decided to land in Minsk, adding that the fighter jet was sent “to ensure a safe landing."

But Ryanair said in a statement that Belarusian air traffic control instructed the plane to divert to the capital. The plane was searched, and no bomb was found.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary described the move as “a case of state-sponsored hijacking … state-sponsored piracy.”

In an apparent reference to the Belarusian security agency that still goes under its Soviet-era name KGB, O’Leary he told the Irish radio station Newstalk that he believes “some KGB agents offloaded from the aircraft” in Minsk.

Of the 126 people aboard the flight initially, only 121 made it to Vilnius, according to Rolandas Kiskis, chief of criminal police bureau in the Lithuanian capital where an investigation investigation has begun.

Passengers described Pratasevich's shock when he realized the plane was going to Minsk.

“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 death penalty awaiting him there,” passenger Marius Rutkauskas said after the plane finally arrived in Vilnius. “We sat for an hour after the landing. Then they started releasing passengers and took those two. We did not see them again.”

Pratasevich was a co-founder of the Telegram messaging app’s Nexta channel, which played a prominent role in helping organize the anti-Lukashenko protests.

Nearly 2 million Belarusians in the nation of 9.3 million people have followed the channel, which has been the main conduit for organizing demonstrations and offered advice on how to dodge police cordons. It also has run photos, video and other materials documenting the brutal police crackdown on the protests.

Belarus authorities have labeled the channel “extremist” and charged Pratasevich in absentia of inciting mass riots and fanning social hatred. He could face 15 years in prison if convicted.

In November, the Belarusian KGB also put Pratasevich on the list of people suspected of involvement in terrorism, an ominous sign that he could face even graver charges. Terrorism is punishable by death in Belarus, the only country in Europe that maintains capital punishment.

Amid the international outrage, Moscow quickly offered a helping hand to its ally.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the episode needs to be investigated — but that it couldn’t be rushed. Moscow and Minsk have close political, economic and military ties, and Lukashenko has relied on Russian support amid Western sanctions.

In a previous diversion of a passenger flight, a United Airlines flight in 2004 from London to Washington carrying the singer Yusuf Islam, better known as Cat Stevens, was sent to Bangor, Maine, where FBI agents met the plane and sent him back to England. U.S. officials said he was denied access to the United States on national security grounds. He later was allowed into the U.S.

———

Isachenkov reported from Moscow. Associated Press writers Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sam Petrequin in Brussels, Sylvia Hui and Jill Lawless in London, David Koenig in Dallas, Alexandra Jaffe in Washington and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed

West slams Belarus over jet diversion, journalist arrest - ABC News (go.com)

 

[northern watch]

 

[northern watch]

 

[Melodi]

Even more interesting, I wonder if he knows morse code...also really interesting timing given the above posts -

Belarus: Roman Protasevich appears in new video after arrest following 'state-sponsored hijacking'

A Belarusian opposition activist who was arrested after the Ryanair plane he was on was diverted to Minsk in a "state-sponsored hijacking" has appeared in a new video.

news.sky.com

Belarus: Roman Protasevich appears in new video after arrest following 'state-sponsored hijacking'
Monday 24 May 2021 20:37, UK

Image:Roman Protasevich in a new video released by Belarusian authorities. Pic: Nexta

Why you can trust Sky News
A Belarusian opposition activist who was arrested after the Ryanair plane he was on was diverted to Minsk in a "state-sponsored hijacking" has appeared in a new video.
Journalist Roman Protasevich's flight from Athens in Greece was rerouted from its scheduled destination of Vilnius, Lithuania, to the Belarusian capital on the orders of President Alexander Lukashenko.

In the footage released by Belarusian authorities, Mr Protasevich, who is a prominent critic of the dictator and is being held in jail, said he was in good health and admitted helping to organise mass protests in Minsk last year.
Wearing a dark top and with his hands tightly clasped in front of him, he added he was in a pre-trial detention facility in the capital and denied having heart problems which was reported on social media.
Ryanair said Belarusian flight controllers told the crew there was a bomb threat against the aircraft as it was crossing through Belarus airspace on Sunday and ordered it to land.

A Belarusian MiG-29 fighter jet was scrambled to escort the plane in a brazen show of force by Mr Lukashenko, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for over a quarter of a century.
Belarusian authorities then arrested 26-year-old blogger Mr Protasevich, who ran a popular messaging app that played a key role in helping organise demonstrations against the dictator

 

[Melodi]

Oh boy, now per the BBC it is a "confession of his crimes" and he looks beat up to me, but that could just be me...

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-57233134

In the last few moments a video has emerged in which opposition journalist Roman Protasevich apparently confesses to crimes he has been charged with by the Belarusian state.

In the video Protasevich says he's being treated well in jail and that reports of heart problems are false. It was not immediately possible to verfiy whether the words were his own and had not been recorded under duress.

The video appeared after an unconfirmed report circulated that he was in hospital in critical condition with heart disease.

Protasevich is being held in a detention centre in Minsk, according to Belarus's interior ministry.

An ardent opponent of Belarus's president, Protasevich was put on the country's list of "individuals involved in terrorist activity" for his role in mass protests last year. The charge of causing mass unrest can be punished by up to 15 years in jail.

 

[Melodi]

The news is breaking so fast that many sites are just adding more information at the top and keeping the older stuff at the bottom so some posts may not have the entire current "article" because we already have it posted here. I thought the first part of the update on RTE filled in a few more gaps on the confession story so I'm posting it here.

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 activist appears in video 'confessing' to charges
Updated / Monday, 24 May 2021 20:33

Roman Protasevich was detained in Minsk over the weekend (File pic)

Arrested Belarussian opposition blogger Roman Protasevich, who was aboard the diverted Ryanair flight, said he is cooperating with authorities and "confessing" to charges of organising protests in a video circulated by state Belarusian TV channels today.

"I can say that I have no health problems... I continue cooperating with investigators and am confessing to having organised mass unrest in the city of Minsk," he said in the video.

A senior Belarus transport official has said that the country had received a bomb threat claiming to be from Hamas ahead of the diversion of a Ryanair passenger flight carrying a dissident.

Artem Sikorsky, the head of the aviation department at the transport and communications ministry, read out a letter to journalists that said: "We, the soldiers of Hamas, demand that Israel ceasefire in the Gaza Strip."

He said the group demanded that the "European Union renounces its support for Israel in this war" and if it did not fulfill their demands: "The bomb will explode over Vilnius on May 23".

However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel described those claims as "completely implausible".

Speaking at the EU summit in Brussels, she said: "We have seen a forced landing that led to the arrest.

"All other explanations for the landing of this Ryanair flight are completely implausible."

Speaking at a press briefing, the Belarusian air force chief Igor Golub said the captain of the flight independently made the decision to land in Minsk.

"The decision was made by the captain without outside interference," Mr Golub said.

He added that the aircraft could have also chosen to go to Ukraine or Poland.

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

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has backed calls for an independent investigation into the matter, declaring himself to be "deeply concerned" by the incident.

"The secretary general supports calls for a full, transparent and independent investigation into this disturbing incident and urges all relevant actors to cooperate with such an inquiry," said his spokesman in a statement.

The EU also summoned the Belarusian ambassador to condemn the "inadmissible" the forced landing and detention of journalist Roman Protasevich.

An EU statement said: "Ambassador (Aleksandr) Mikhnevich was informed of the firm condemnation by the EU institutions and EU Member States of the coercive act by which the Belarusian authorities have jeopardised the safety of passengers and crew."

Officials "conveyed the EU's position that the outrageous action by Belarusian authorities constitute another blatant attempt to silence all opposition voices in the country and demanded the immediate release" of Mr Protasevich, the statement said.

The EU 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.

 

[danielboon]

Yes, thanks Daniel, I am happy to see that you are posting!

I will continue to post God is in control

 

[Melodi]

Again this is snipped from the long-long picture-heavy UK Daily Mail article, it mentioned the torture aspect so I'm putting some of it here - full article at the link.

Ryanair hijacking: Belarus journalist is 'confessing' to crimes

Belarus opposition blogger Roman Protasevich, 26, was detained after his Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was diverted to Minsk by a Soviet-era warplane on the pretext of a bomb threat.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Belarus journalist who was dragged off hijacked Ryanair plane appears on state TV to say he is 'confessing' to crimes - after colleagues said he was almost certainly being TORTURED

Dissident journalist Roman Protasevich has said he is 'confessing' to crimes in video on Belarusian state TV

The opposition blogger, 26, was detained after flight from Greece to Lithuania was forced to land at Minsk

Russia has voiced approval of the 'hijacking' saying it was an 'absolutely reasonable approach' to the arrest

Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has voiced concerns Protasevich, 26, is likely being 'tortured'

Belarus claimed that there was a bomb threat but Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary poured scorn on the notion

Suspicions surround four Russian citizens who voluntarily left plane in Minsk, not continuing to Lithuania

Aircraft have been instructed to avoid Belarusian airspace following the 'state-sponsored hijack'

Tory MP Tom Tugendhat called it 'a warlike act,' joining the British, Irish and United States governments

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said further sanctions were being considered against Lukashenko
By JACK WRIGHT and LAUREN LEWIS and ROSS IBBETSON and WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 20:36, 24 May 2021 | UPDATED: 20:47, 24 May 2021

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A dissident journalist who was dragged off a Ryanair civilian airliner and arrested by the Belarusian regime in an extraordinary 'war-like' hijacking on Sunday has said that he is 'confessing' to charges of organising protests and is cooperating with authorities in a video being circulated on state TV.

Roman Protasevich, a blogger who founded Poland-based opposition news outlet Nexta and broadcast footage of huge demonstrations which erupted across Belarus last year, was detained after his flight from Greece to Lithuania was diverted to Minsk by a warplane on the pretext of a bomb threat.

The 26-year-old has now said he is cooperating with investigators and 'confessing' to charges of organising anti-regime protests in a video which is being shown on Belarusian TV. He also denied having health problems following reports denied by the regime that he was in hospitalised with a heart condition.

'I am in Detention Centre no 1 in Minsk. I can say that I have no health problems, including with my heart or any other organs,' Protasevich said in the clip that appears to have been filmed on a phone camera.

He is wearing a black hoodie and sits behind a table in a non-descript room with a pack of cigarettes by his side, and fidgets with his hands as he makes the statement and some dark markings are visible on his forehead.

'The attitude of employees towards me is as correct as possible and according to the law. I continue cooperating with investigators and am confessing to having organised mass unrest in the city of Minsk,' he said.

Earlier, the Belarus Interior Ministry said Protasevich was being held in Minsk and dismissed unconfirmed reports he was hospitalised with a heart condition. 'The administration of the institution has not received any complaints about his health,' the ministry said on its Telegram channel.

Exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who has previously appeared in a similar video published by state media in which she urged her supporters not to protest after last year's election, said the video was made under 'physical and moral pressure' and called for his 'immediate' release.

Protasevich, who both fled to Europe, was last year added to Belarus's list of 'individuals involved in terrorist activity'. In Minsk, he faces charges of causing mass unrest, an offence punishable by up to 15 years in jail.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya earlier sparked fears that she Protasevich was likely in 'awful circumstances' and being tortured, telling Sky News: 'We're really afraid, not only for his freedom but for his life.'

Protasevich's flight made a sharp deviation from its course just a few miles from the Lithuanian border before landing in Minsk on Sunday, leading some aviation experts to believe that the Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jet may even have threatened to shoot down the Ryanair passenger plane.

Suspicions have fallen on four passengers, believed to be agents from the Belarus's secret service - known as the KGB, the same name as its Russian counterpart - who voluntarily departed in Minsk, not continuing with the flight when it travelled on to its final destination, the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

Their presence has stoked fears that Belarusian or Russian agents were involved in a murky operation to arrest Protasevich who had begged the crew not to follow the order, saying 'they will kill me' and telling a fellow passenger on the ground that he faced 'the death penalty.'

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab raised the possibility of direct Russian involvement in the diversion of the civilian airliner, telling MPs earlier today: 'It's very difficult to believe that this kind of action could have been taken without at least the acquiescence of the authorities in Moscow.'

Yale University History Professor Timothy Snyder also added fuel to rumours of Russian participation in the plot, claiming in a tweet: 'Belarus would not have hijacked an EU plane without Russian approval'.

But Russia threw its weight behind Belarus today, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying that Lukashenko was taking an 'absolutely reasonable approach' to the detention of Protasevich.

Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also mocked the Western indignation at the alleged hijacking, writing on Facebook she was 'shocked that the West calls the incident in Belarusian air space 'shocking'' and accusing Western nations of 'kidnappings, forced landings, and illegal arrests'.

It comes as EU President Ursula von der Leyen slammed Lukashenko's 'outrageous and illegal behaviour' and vowed those responsible for the hijacking would be sanctioned. EU leaders are meeting for a two-day summit today to decide on a joint response to the act of 'aviation piracy'.

Mr Raab has said further sanctions were being considered against the Lukashenko administration and Belarus' ambassador in London had been summoned for a dressing down.

Aircraft have been instructed to avoid Belarusian airspace following the 'state-sponsored hijack' of the Ryanair flight.

Roman Protasevich, who was dragged off a Ryanair civilian airliner and arrested by the Belarusian regime, has said that he is 'confessing' to charges of organising protests and cooperating with authorities in a video being circulated on state TV +21
Roman Protasevich, who was dragged off a Ryanair civilian airliner and arrested by the Belarusian regime, has said that he is 'confessing' to charges of organising protests and cooperating with authorities in a video being circulated on state TV

Opposition journalist Roman Protasevich, 26, (pictured after he was separated from other passengers) was hauled off the plane and arrested with his Russian girlfriend Sofia Sapega, 23, after the flight from Greece to Lithuania made the emergency landing in Minsk +21
Opposition journalist Roman Protasevich, 26, (pictured after he was separated from other passengers) was hauled off the plane and arrested with his Russian girlfriend Sofia Sapega, 23, after the flight from Greece to Lithuania made the emergency landing in Minsk

Opposition journalist Roman Protasevich's girlfriend Sofia Sapega who was also detained +21
Opposition journalist Roman Protasevich's girlfriend Sofia Sapega who was also detained +21
Opposition journalist Roman Protasevich's girlfriend Sofia Sapega who was also detained

The airliner full of tourists made an emergency landing at Minsk Airport yesterday after being escorted by a MiG-29 fighter jet amid reports of a bomb on board +21
The airliner full of tourists made an emergency landing at Minsk Airport yesterday after being escorted by a MiG-29 fighter jet amid reports of a bomb on board

Ryanair flight FR4978 had been flying from Athens in Greece to Vilnius in Lithuania when it was escorted by a Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jet to Belarus amid fake reports of an IED on board. It was forced to make an emergency landing at Minsk Airport, where authorities arrested dissident journalist Roman Protasevich +21
Ryanair flight FR4978 had been flying from Athens in Greece to Vilnius in Lithuania when it was escorted by a Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jet to Belarus amid fake reports of an IED on board. It was forced to make an emergency landing at Minsk Airport, where authorities arrested dissident journalist Roman Protasevich

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 +21
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

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Lukashenko 'has turned Belarus into North Korea in Europe': Backlash to hijacking ramps up as West summons Belarus ambassadors and new sanctions are prepared
Berlin, London and Brussels summoned the Belarusian ambassadors, as exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called for an independent probe, new sanctions and for Minsk to be excluded from international aviation bodies.

'An act of state terrorism was carried out and now any passengers flying over Belarus in a civilian aircraft will be in danger,' Tikhanovskaya told reporters in Vilnius.

'The regime has turned our country into North Korea in the middle of Europe,' she said.

The EU and other Western countries have already imposed a wide range of sanctions on Lukashenko's government over a brutal crackdown on opposition demonstrations that followed his disputed re-election to a sixth term last August.

Together with co-founder Stepan Putilo, Protasevich until recently ran the Nexta telegram channel that helped organise protests that were the biggest challenge to Lukashenko's rule since he took power in the ex-Soviet country in 1994.

Belarus insisted it had acted legally over the grounding of the Ryanair jet, accusing the West of making 'unfounded accusations' for political reasons.

Its air force chief said the plane's captain had decided to land in Belarus 'without outside interference' and that the pilot could have chosen to go to Ukraine or Poland.

A senior Belarusian transport official said the authorities received a letter claiming to be from Hamas threatening to blow up the plane over Vilnius unless the EU renounced support for Israel.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel dismissed Minsk's explanations as 'completely implausible' as the EU pushed for a probe by the International Civil Aviation Organization. The ICAO, a UN agency, is to meet on Thursday.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres backed calls for a 'full, transparent and independent investigation in this disturbing incident'.

Protasevich, an outspoken critic of Belarusian Lukashenko - dubbed 'Europe's last dictator' - was wanted for his role in organising massive protests against him after rigged elections last year.

The Belarus Interior Ministry said Protasevich is being held in the capital Minsk and dismissed unconfirmed reports that he was hospitalised. Earlier, Belarussian media reported that Protasevich's mother received unconfirmed reports that her son was in hospital and in critical condition because of heart problems.

'This information does not correspond with reality,' the ministry said on its Telegram channel.

It added that 'the arrested person is in custody' and is being held in Detention Centre No 1 in central Minsk.

'The administration of the institution has not received any complaints about his health,' the ministry said.

Lukashenko, an ally of Vladimir Putin, personally gave the 'unequivocal order' to 'make the plane do a U-turn and land,' according to a statement by Belarus's presidential news service.

Tsikhanouskaya called for wider sanctions on the Lukashenko's regime after Protasevich's arrest, which she said 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 said she though it 'unbelievable' the regime had lasted long under these circumstances, especially because 'the whole county is against the regime'.

'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', she added.

Meanwhile, Minsk Airport was at the centre of fresh drama on Monday after it suspended boarding of a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt over security fears after receiving a tip-off about a possible terrorist act.

Lufthansa said in a written statement on Monday that Minsk authorities, prompted by a security alert, had unloaded luggage and freight from flight LH1487 and carried out renewed security checks on 56 people on board, including five crew members.

Minsk airport said measures for the screening of passengers, baggage and aircraft had been completed and that the aircraft was preparing again for departure. The airport was operating normally, it said.

'The message about the terrorist attack, which was received earlier by e-mail of the airport, was not confirmed,' the airport said.

Earlier, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary condemned 'state-sponsored piracy' by Belarus after one of his passenger jets was yesterday forced to land by a warplane on the pretext of a bomb threat.

'I think it's very frightening for the crew, for the passengers who were held under armed guard, had their bags searched,' he told Newstalk.

'It was clear it appears that the intent of the Russian authorities was to remove a journalist and his traveling companion. We believe there was also some KGB agents offloaded from the aircraft as well.'

Tory MP Tom Tugendhat this morning called it 'a warlike act,' joining the British, Irish and American governments in their condemnation. 'This was a flight between two NATO members and between two EU members,' the Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman told Radio 4. 'If it's not an act of war, it's certainly a warlike act.'

Mr Raab, the British foreign secretary, vowed to hold Lukashenko accountable 'for his outlandish actions' with further sanctions and demanded the 'immediate release of Protasevich.'

His Irish counterpart Simon Coveney was also withering, saying that Dublin - where Ryanair is headquartered - would not allow the 'state-sponsored piracy' to go unpunished.

 

[Red Baron]

In the past, during an airliner hijacking, bomb threat or other such situation, countries will do everything they can -not- to have the airliner land in their country. Think about it, why would you want a large airliner, with a supposed bomb, flying over your large metropolitan areas let alone landing in a large city.

Even if a country allows such a plane to land, you will do everything you can to divert the plane to a remote airfield away from potential collateral damage.

Pretty obvious the Belarus authorities are full of Bravo Sierra IMO.

 

[Melodi]

Update: European Union leaders agree on new sanctions against Belarus, including a ban on the use of EU airspace and airports after the forced landing of a flight and arrest of an opposition journalist aboard.

9:20 PM · May 24, 2021·Twitter Web App

https://twitter.com/EndGameWW3/status/1396924029945237512/retweets

 

[Melodi]

In the past, during an airliner hijacking, bomb threat or other such situation, countries will do everything they can -not- to have the airliner land in their country. Think about it, why would you want a large airliner, with a supposed bomb, flying over your large metropolitan areas let alone landing in a large city.

Even if a country allows such a plane to land, you will do everything you can to divert the plane to a remote airfield away from potential collateral damage.

Pretty obvious the Belarus authorities are full of Bravo Sierra IMO.

Also, for what it is worth and I don't have the link, I think it was on Twitter a few hours ago - Hamas has denied the bomb threat utterly. They said they had no reason to do so and basically it wasn't an area they would have wanted to attack. Not that I trust them most of the time, but this time I suspect it was probably true.

 

[Melodi]

Belarus journalist's family fear torture after plane arrest

The father of an activist who was detained after his flight was diverted tells the BBC he is "really afraid".

www.bbc.com

Belarus journalist's family fear torture after plane arrest
Published20 minutes ago
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media captionRoman Protasevich's father tells the BBC he is fearful his son may be tortured
The father of a journalist who was arrested after his flight was diverted to Belarus has told the BBC he fears his son may be tortured.

Roman Protasevich, 26, was on a flight from Greece which was rerouted to Minsk on Sunday over a supposed bomb threat.
Western countries accused Belarus of "hijacking" the Ryanair plane in order to arrest the dissident reporter.
A video has also emerged of Mr Protasevich that appears to have been recorded under duress.

In the clip, which was released late on Monday, the journalist said he was in good health and seemingly confessed to crimes he had been charged with by the Belarusian state. But activists, including the country's main opposition leader, criticised the video and suggested Mr Protasevich was under pressure to admit wrongdoing.

• Follow live updates here
• Belarus plane: Who is dissident Roman Protasevich?
• What action can the EU take?

The journalist's father, Dmitri Protasevich, told the BBC on Monday that he was "really afraid" of how his son would be treated by the authorities in his home country.

"We hope that he will cope. We are afraid to even think about it, but it's possible he could be beaten and tortured. We are really afraid of that," he said in a video call.

"We are really shocked and really upset," he said. "This sort of thing shouldn't be happening in the 21st Century at the heart of Europe.

"We hope that the whole international community, including the European Union, will put unprecedented pressure on the authorities. We hope the pressure will work and the authorities will realise they've made a really big mistake."

Shortly after the footage of Mr Protasevich was released, the European Union said it had agreed to impose more sanctions on Belarus. It also called on airlines to avoid the country's airspace and gave the go-ahead to banning Belarusian airlines from flying over EU territory.

IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS
image captionThe plane landed in Vilnius more than six hours after its scheduled arrival

Belarus sent a fighter jet to force flight FR4978 - which had departed from the Greek capital, Athens, and was bound for Lithuania - to land, claiming a bomb threat. It touched down in the capital Minsk at 13:16 local time (10:16 GMT) on Sunday.

Police then took Mr Protasevich away when the plane's 126 passengers disembarked. The activist, who witnesses said was "super scared", was arrested along with his girlfriend Sofia Sapega.

Ms Sapega's mother told the BBC that the 23-year-old had been taken to a Minsk jail, adding that the last word she managed to write on her WhatsApp messaging account was 'Mummy'. The accusations against her are unclear.

Belarus is the only European country that still executes prisoners, and witnesses said Mr Protasevich told fellow passengers he feared he would face the death penalty.

Three other passengers did not reach the plane's final destination, which was the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said he believed some Belarusian KGB agents also departed the plane at Minsk, but this has not been independently verified.

Belarus said the flight had been diverted because of a bomb threat from the Palestinian militant group Hamas. A senior transport official read a letter to reporters that he claimed was from the militant group.

"If you do not fulfil our demands, the bomb will explode over Vilnius," it said.

But Hamas has denied any involvement. The group has no history or known capability of mounting operations outside Israel and the Palestinian territories. German leader Chancellor Angela Merkel said the Belarusian claim was "completely implausible".

The incident has drawn sharp condemnation from across the world, with countries urging the immediate release of Mr Protasevich and a full investigation.

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

• Passengers describe panic on plane
• Why wearing the wrong socks is risky in Belarus
• How messenger app bypassed Belarus news blackout

State media in Belarus said Mr Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, personally gave the order for the plane to be diverted.

The 66-year-old leader has cracked down on dissenting voices since winning a disputed election last August. Many opposition figures have been arrested, while others fled into exile.

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.

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.

Belarus: The basics
Where is Belarus? It has its ally Russia to the east and Ukraine to the south. To the north and west lie EU and Nato members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
Why does it matter? Like Ukraine, this nation of 9.5 million is caught in rivalry between the West and Russia. President Lukashenko has been nicknamed "Europe's last dictator" - he has been in power for 27 years.
What's going on there? There is a huge opposition movement demanding new, democratic leadership and economic reform. The opposition movement and Western governments say Mr Lukashenko rigged the 9 August election. Officially he won by a landslide. A huge police crackdown has curbed street protests and sent opposition leaders to prison or into exile.

 

[AlfaMan]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1396847451575832577

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/Conflicts/status/1396847451575832577

So tell me, where are all those Russian troops and equipment that was supposed to have moved out of the area around the Crimea?

If you wanted a trigger for a world war, this one is as good as any. Lukashenko could feel threatened by the surrounding states, and could call for help from his good buddy Vlad the Impaler.
Sanctions by the EU, while totally justified; could ratchet up the situation another level. What if Vlad brings in S-400 batteries and with their mouthpiece Lukashenko yapping; he could consider Belarus airspace locked down. Something flies over it (say, a AWACS or a NATO "peacekeeping exercise"), he orders the plane or planes shot down. Boom, an escalation yet again and it justifies Russia to head west young man. Head west into Europe to "punish the dogs who violated Belarussian airspace".
Does everyone see just how volatile this situation is?

 

[Dozdoats]

But volatility is GOOOOOOOD ...

 

[AlfaMan]

Oh boy, now per the BBC it is a "confession of his crimes" and he looks beat up to me, but that could just be me...

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-57233134

In the last few moments a video has emerged in which opposition journalist Roman Protasevich apparently confesses to crimes he has been charged with by the Belarusian state.

In the video Protasevich says he's being treated well in jail and that reports of heart problems are false. It was not immediately possible to verfiy whether the words were his own and had not been recorded under duress.

The video appeared after an unconfirmed report circulated that he was in hospital in critical condition with heart disease.

Protasevich is being held in a detention centre in Minsk, according to Belarus's interior ministry.

An ardent opponent of Belarus's president, Protasevich was put on the country's list of "individuals involved in terrorist activity" for his role in mass protests last year. The charge of causing mass unrest can be punished by up to 15 years in jai l.

He's been beaten pretty badly and they're using sleep deprivation on him. Never seen a 26 year old with bags under his eyes like that. I'd say someone has slapped some pancake makeup on him. Russians don't tan, they burn like redhead Irish folks. He was in Greece; wouldn't you think there was some evidence of being in the sun on his face? He'd either be dark tanned or more likely red as a beet. There could be an underlying heart problem too-his face looks puffy. Probably from the beatings.
They have worked him over hard and don't expect to see him in public anymore. He's a dead man walking. The girlfriend probably isn't in much better shape. She's Russian so she's probably been sent to Moscow and into a reserved cell in the Lubiyanka.
Pray for these people. And pray nobody gets stupid and escalates this.

 

[AlfaMan]

Lukashenko just signed this new media control act into law today................

Aleksandr Lukashenko signs mass media law

Aleksandr Lukashenko signs mass media law
May 24

Share
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has signed a law that amends the legislation on mass media.

The law expands the list of information, the dissemination of which by the media and internet resources is prohibited. In particular, the law bans publishing the results of public opinion polls relating to the socio-political situation conducted without necessary accreditation. It is also prohibited to post hyperlinks to materials containing information that is prohibited.

The Prosecutor General, the prosecutors of the regions, the city of Minsk shall be given the right to restrict access to internet resources and online media which disseminate the information to promote extremist activities or to call for such activities, as well as other information, the dissemination of which can harm the national interests.

Grounds for restricting access to internet resources and blocking media outlets have been expanded. Now it can also be made on the basis of a decision by the Interagency Commission on Information Security that find them to be distributing information that can bring harm to national interests.

The law stipulates that along with a court decision, a media outlet can be banned by a decision of the Information Ministry (for example, in case of two or more written warnings issued to a legal entity, which has the functions of the editorial board of a media outlet, or to a media outlet founder or owner of a network publication).

The law envisages measures aimed at minimizing foreign influence on the Belarusian information market. Regardless of the time of the launch, a media outlet cannot be founded by foreign legal entities, foreign citizens and stateless persons, or legal entities with foreign participation.

The law introduces a possibility of revoking a journalist's accreditation if he or she or a legal entity that has the functions of a media editorial office has violated the established accreditation procedure, or if information disseminated is not true and defames the business reputation of the organization that accredited the journalist, or if an intentional illegal act is committed in the course of professional activities.

The law also enshrines a possibility to restrict access to a copy of an internet resource, access to which was previously restricted.

The main provisions of the law come into force one month after its official publication.

Aleksandr Lukashenko signs mass media law

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has signed a law that amends the legislation on mass media.

president.gov.by

 

[AlfaMan]

I just poked around the Belarus president's website (thoughtfully and well translated into English, and there's a page you need to see.

The President of the Republic of Belarus | Official Internet Portal of the President of the Republic of Belarus

That page will take you his autobiographical/ " look at ME" page. Scroll about halfway down; there's a section called "Famous people talk about the president". The first "famous person" to talk about Lukashenko is none other than Winnie the Xi.............

 

[danielboon]

So tell me, where are all those Russian troops and equipment that was supposed to have moved out of the area around the Crimea?

If you wanted a trigger for a world war, this one is as good as any. Lukashenko could feel threatened by the surrounding states, and could call for help from his good buddy Vlad the Impaler.
Sanctions by the EU, while totally justified; could ratchet up the situation another level. What if Vlad brings in S-400 batteries and with their mouthpiece Lukashenko yapping; he could consider Belarus airspace locked down. Something flies over it (say, a AWACS or a NATO "peacekeeping exercise"), he orders the plane or planes shot down. Boom, an escalation yet again and it justifies Russia to head west young man. Head west into Europe to "punish the dogs who violated Belarussian airspace".
Does everyone see just how volatile this situation is?

I see where you going with this, yup one arch Duke coming up.

 

[danielboon]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1396972814553567235

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/EndGameWW3/status/1396972814553567235

 

[danielboon]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1396972745901154306

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/EndGameWW3/status/1396972745901154306

 

[John Deere Girl]

I see where you going with this, yup one arch Duke coming up.

This is what I've been thinking as well.

 

[Doomer Doug]

If anybody needed to understand how the stolen election impacts the USA here in CONUS, this is prime example number one. Alfaman, does ANYBODY think either Vlad the Impaler, or this clown would have dared to do this if Trump was POTUS?
We may very well get a war out of this, since it is an act of piracy, which is commonly classed as an act of war.

Vlad the Impaler is posed to take over all of the Ukraine, isolate the Baltic States, secure Kalingrad, and smack down Poland like a fly swater. And NATO, the EU and especially the USA are outed as clods, wimps, and spineless cowards.
I mean it is pathetic to watch all the huffing and puffing against Russia. Cut off the Nordstream Pipeline and gut energy for Western Europe? bomb Minksk? really, or maybe, we got no military options here, or political options here, much less any economic options here.

And don't forget Russia and China are together in this smackdown.

They know we are weak. They know biden is really Obama and Mooshelle, and Rice and Hellary plus et al, and they KNOW they can take us and bitch slap us down hard.

Send Austin the 3rd? China won't even talk to him since they KNOW he is a putz, a coward, with the only issue being how long they want to wait to attack us, to give him all the time he needs to diversity our military into a woke pile of

Prepare for war, and prepare for decisive military defeat everywhere in the world. China and Russia have taken our measure, and like Mene, Mene, Tekel Uparshim: You have been weighed, You have been judged, You have been found guilty and you have been sentenced. So said the hand writing on the wall. And that night Babylon fell, and the grandson of Nebuchanezzer was killed.

does anybody think this farce of a senile old man, his deep state scum and farce of a government can last five minutes against either, much less both China and Russia?