Lukashenko critic held after Ryanair flight diverted to Belarus in ‘attack on democracy’

An opponent of Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko has been detained after the Ryanair passenger jet he was flying on was forced to make an emergency landing in Minsk because of an alleged bomb threat.

The flight carrying Roman Protasevich was diverted to the country’s capital during a routine flight from Greece to Lithuania, FlightRadar24 tracking data showed.

Mr Protasevich’s supporters accused those close to the president of hatching a plot to have him arrested once the plane had been grounded.

State media has since reported that Mr Lukashenko personally ordered a MiG-29 fighter jet to accompany the plane – which was travelling from Athens to Vilnius – to an airport in Minsk.

The Belarusian Interior Ministry said Raman Pratasevich was arrested at the airport.

A spokesperson for Ryanair confirmed the plane was diverted because of a security threat and that it landed safely.

In a statement, the spokesperson added: “Passengers were offloaded while security checks were completed by local authorities.

“Nothing untoward was found and authorities cleared the aircraft to depart together with passengers and crew after approx. 5hrs on the ground in Minsk.

“Ryanair has been advised by Minsk airport that the aircraft is expected to depart at 17:00hrs UK time (19:00hrs local time in Minsk)

“Ryanair has notified the relevant national and European safety and security agencies and we apologise sincerely to all affected passengers for this regrettably delay which was outside Ryanair’s control”.

Mr Pratasevich, who had fled the country for Poland, faces charges that could carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years. His supporters say he could face the death penalty.

The British MP Tom Tugenhadt called the incident “an attack on democracy”, while the Lithuanian president, Gitanas Nauseda, described the move as “unprecedented”.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU Commission, tweeted: “ALL passengers must be able to continue their travel to Vilnius immediately and their safety ensured. Any violation of international air transport rules must bear consequences.”

It comes amid a continuing crackdown on opposition figures in Belarus, following a presidential election last year in which opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya lost to long-time ruler Alexander Lukashenko, in a poll widely thought to be rigged.

Ms Tikhanovskaya, who fled to neighbouring Lithuania after the election, tweeted that Mr Protasevich should be released immediately and called for an investigation into the incident. She also said Belarus should be sanctioned.

“The regime forced the landing @Ryanair plane in Minsk to arrest journalist and activist Raman Pratasevich,” she said. “He faces the death penalty in Belarus. We demand immediate release of Raman, @ICAO investigation, and sanctions against Belarus.”

The last-minute diversion allegedly came after the carrier received a bomb threat while flying over Belarus en route from Athens to Vilnius. There were 170 people on the plane from 12 different countries, according to authorities in Lithuania.

A Mig-29 fighter jet was dispatched to accompany the passenger plane.

Authorities did not find any explosive devices on the plane, a Minsk International Airport spokesperson was quoted as saying by the country’s official Belta news agency.

But Belta also reported that Mr Lukashenko had personally given the order for the plane to land at Minsk.

Shortly after news of the incident emerged, Reuters reported that Lithuania’s president Gitanas Nausėda had accused Belarus of landing the plane in Minsk “by force”.

He demanded the release of Mr Protasevich. “I call on Nato and EU allies to immediately react to the threat posed to international civil aviation by the Belarus regime. The international community must take immediate steps that this does not repeat,” the president said.

German diplomat Miguel Berger demanded an “immediate explanation” from Belarus.

Reporting that Mr Protasevich had been deemed a terrorist by Belarus KGB, Hanna Liubakova, a Belarusian journalist, alleged that Mr Lukashenko’s forces may have effectively “hijacked” the plane, saying: “Most probably his agents reported a bomb on a plane and forced the plane to land in Minsk”.

Mr Pratasevich is a co-founder of the Telegram messaging app’s Nexta channel, which Belarus last year declared as extremist after it was used to help organise major protests against Mr Lukashenko.

Months of protests arose after last August’s presidential election that official results say gave Mr Lukashenko a sixth term in office. Police cracked down on the protests harshly, detaining some 30,000 people and beating many of them.

Although protests died down during the winter, Belarus has continued to take action against the opposition and independent news media. Last week, 11 staff members of the TUT by news website were detained by police.

Additional reporting by agencies