Belarus Diverts Ryanair Flight To Arrest Journalist

A Ryanair plane flying from Greece to Lithuania has been diverted to Belarus, with the country’s opposition figures saying it was done so a dissident journalist on board could be arrested.

The Nexta online network said its ex-editor Roman Protasevich was detained.

Belarus state media said the plane was diverted to Minsk because of a bomb scare but no explosives were found.

Flight FR4978 was en route from Athens to Vilnius on Sunday when it turned east to Belarus’s capital Minsk shortly before it reached the Lithuania border.

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

Meanwhile, European nations have reacted with outrage, accusing Belarus of “state terrorism” and demanding punishment.

Political figures across Europe have already called for the EU and Nato to intervene.

Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was beaten by Alexander Lukashenko in presidential polls last year widely denounced as rigged, was among those demanding Protasevich’s release.

Since August’s election, 66-year-old Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, has cracked down on dissenting voices. Many opposition figures have been arrested or, like Ms Tikhanovskaya, fled into exile.

The flight path, visible on the flightradar124 website, suggests the plane was actually nearer to Vilnius than Minsk when it turned.