Belarus Forces Foreign Passenger Plane to Land to Arrest Opposition Activist

Authorities: "Emergency landing due to in-flight bomb threat"
Anti-government figure Pratasevich arrested on site
Greece calls it "state kidnapping"... EU says "Absolutely unacceptable"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Belarus deployed fighter jets to forcibly land a foreign-registered passenger plane in order to arrest an opposition activist. European countries are strongly condemning the act as "state-sponsored kidnapping," and the controversy shows no signs of subsiding.

According to foreign media on the 23rd (local time), Belarusian authorities reported that they received a bomb threat on board an Irish-registered Ryanair aircraft flying through their airspace, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing at Minsk airport, the capital. The passenger plane was en route from Athens, Greece to Vilnius, Lithuania.

Flight path of Ryanair aircraft that changed its route to Minsk, Belarus while heading to Vilnius, Lithuania [Image source=FlightRadar24]

The aircraft, carrying over 170 people including Belarusian opposition figure Raman Pratasevich, changed its route just before entering Lithuanian airspace and headed to Minsk. According to local Belarusian media, authorities even scrambled a MiG-29 fighter jet to enforce the forced landing of the plane. After landing at Minsk airport, the plane was grounded for more than seven hours, during which authorities arrested Pratasevich, who was on board, the New York Times (NYT) reported.

Both Ryanair and Belarusian security authorities stated that no explosives were found on the aircraft.

Raman Pratasevich [Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

Criticism is mounting that Belarus forcibly landed the plane to arrest Pratasevich. Pratasevich is the former editor of NEXTA, Belarus's largest opposition media outlet on the Telegram channel. Following large-scale anti-government protests last year, the government forcibly shut down numerous media outlets to suppress opposition forces, leaving NEXTA as virtually the only opposition media platform and the most influential channel for opposition communication.

Last year, Belarusian authorities listed Pratasevich as a "terrorist activity participant" for allegedly leading the protests and designated NEXTA as an extremist organization. As a result, Pratasevich fled to Lithuania to seek asylum from government persecution.

European countries are strongly condemning Belarus's actions. The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized Belarus as engaging in "state-sponsored kidnapping." Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, called the incident "absolutely unacceptable" and warned that "all acts violating international aviation law must be held accountable." NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also tweeted that it is a "very serious matter" and urged the international community to investigate.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, where Pratasevich resides, condemned the incident as an "act of state terrorism" and requested that immediate sanctions against Belarus be discussed at the EU member states' summit scheduled for the 24th.

The NYT described the incident as "a stark demonstration of how far President Alexander Lukashenko is willing to go to suppress his opponents," noting that it showed "even the airspace of neighboring countries, once considered safe for opposition activists, is under Lukashenko's influence."

Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus [Photo by Reuters]

Meanwhile, President Lukashenko, often called Europe's last dictator, has tightened his grip on opposition forces since the anti-government protests began last year. After Lukashenko, who has ruled for nearly 30 years, claimed a landslide victory with over 80% of the vote in the August presidential election, allegations of election fraud arose, sparking months of opposition protests. Since the protests began, more than 32,000 citizens have been arrested, and at least four deaths have been reported.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.