Anger over Belarus dissident's arrest after Athens to Vilnius flight diverted to Minsk on pretense of 'bomb scare'

Monday, 24 May 2021 13:01
UPD:13:03
REUTERS/ANDRIUS SYTAS
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An international backlash, especially within the European Union, continued on Monday, a day after Belarus authorities ordered a plane flying over its territory to land in Minsk in order to arrest an opposition journalist.

Using the pretense of a bomb scare, police circled the plane after it landed and hauled off Roman Protasevich, while putting on a "performance" of having sniffer dogs check luggage placed on the tarmac and screening other passengers' documents.

The Ryanair passenger jet was headed from Athens to Vilnius, Lithuania, and was diverted - with a Belarus MIG 29 flying next to it - just before it had reached Lithuanian airspace.

The Greek PM himself strenuously condemned the action, which he called "air piracy".

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