Belarus Condemned for ‘Hijack’ of Ryanair Flight, as Greek PM Calls for ‘Consequences’

Several countries in Europe have condemned the government of Belarus for diverting a Ryanair flight in its airspace to arrest a dissident journalist on board.

The flight, which departed Athens for the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on Sunday, was diverted while in Belarusian airspace by a fighter jet and forced to land in Minsk, in what Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary called a “state-sponsored hijacking”, a term also used by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“It was clear that the intent of the Belarusian authorities was to remove a journalist and his travelling companion. We believe some KGB agents were offloaded from the aircraft as well,” O’Leary told POLITICO, who identified the dissident journalist as Roman Protasevich.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, from whose country the flight departed, condemned the Belarussian government on Monday.

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“European leaders must agree at the [EU] summit that there will be clear and severe consequences that will leave no room for Belarus to question our unity and determination,” Mitsotakis said.

“The forced landing of a passenger plane with the aim of illegally detaining a political opponent and a journalist is absolutely reprehensible and constitutes an unacceptable offensive action that cannot be tolerated,” he added.

The British government has also criticised the move, with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemning Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko, saying: “This outlandish action by Lukashenko will have serious implications.”

Belarus, meanwhile, has claimed that there was a bomb threat on board the plane and that President Lukashenko personally ordered a fighter jet to accompany the Ryanair aircraft. While the plane was searched by authorities in Minsk, no explosive device was located.

According to a Reuters report, five of the passengers aboard the Ryanair flight left the aircraft in Minsk and did not carry on to the intended destination.

Michael O’Leary stated that Ryanair will likely be diverting future flights along the Athens-Vilnius route to avoid Belarusian airspace temporarily.

The Swedish Transport Agency has also advised Swedish airlines to avoid the airspace.

“What we will be doing this afternoon is urging Swedish air carriers to check whether they really need to fly in Belarusian airspace, in connection with the incident this weekend,” said Simon Posluk, head of a unit at the Swedish Transport Agency, on Monday.

Swedish broadcaster SVT notes that SAS airlines will be avoiding flying through Belarus, and other airlines, such as Hungary’s Wizz Air and Austrian Airlines, have avoided flying over the country since the Ryanair incident.

Roman Pratasevich, who is believed to have been the target for the alleged hijacking, appeared in a “confession” video that was broadcast on Belarusian television on Monday.

In the video, he confessed to “having organized mass unrest in the city of Minsk” and stated: “I am in Detention Center No. 1 in Minsk. I can say that I have no health problems, including with my heart or any other organs.”

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a Belarusian opposition leader, commented on the video, saying: “The regime’s propaganda channels posted a video of arrested Roman Pratasevich, saying that he is treated lawfully in the Minsk Detention Center No.1… This is how Roman looks under physical and moral pressure.”

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com