DISINFO: The Ryanair incident was handled according to international regulations
SUMMARY
Minsk acted in full accordance with existing international regulations
RESPONSE
The Belarusian authorities violated several international agreements on air traffic security in connection with the forced downing of the passenger plane on 23 May 2021.
Roman Pratasevich was detained in Minsk airport when flying from Athens to Vilnius. On Sunday, May 23, 2021, the Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was forced to turn back before crossing the Lithuanian border and land in the Belarusian capital. The pretext for landing in Minsk was a false report about a bomb on board. At the moment when the plane changed course, it was closer to Vilnius airport than to Minsk. The plane was forced to land in the Belarusian capital by a Belarusian military aircraft. Roman Protasevich was detained during a repeated security check of passengers. Belarusian authorities are persecuting him due to activities in reporting on the 2020 presidential election on his NEXTA channel on Telegram used by the country's opposition. The Belarusian security service, KGB, has listed him as a terrorist (Read more about Pratasevich here). Together with Roman Pratasevich his girlfriend was detained, a citizen of the Russian Federation Sofia Sapega.
The EU condemned Belarusian action against civil plane and the detention of Pratasevich. In a declaration on behalf of the EU on the forced diversion of Ryanair flight FR4978 to Minsk on 23 May 2021, the High Representative called for the immediate release of Mr Pratasevich. This was followed by a European Council statement, in which the EU leaders called for targeted individual and economic sanctions as well as to ban overflight of EU airspace by Belarusian airlines and prevent access to EU airports of flights operated by these.
The incident is investigated as an act of terrorism by Lithuanian authorities.
The incident has been widely condemned. See also the statement referring to the concerns of the UN Secretary General.