{"id":257242,"date":"2021-05-24T06:01:47","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T03:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/belarus-fighter-jet-diverts-airplane-journalist-arrested\/"},"modified":"2021-05-24T06:01:47","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T03:01:47","slug":"belarus-fighter-jet-diverts-airplane-journalist-arrested","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/belarus-fighter-jet-diverts-airplane-journalist-arrested\/","title":{"rendered":"#Belarus fighter jet diverts airplane, journalist arrested"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Belarus fighter jet diverts airplane, journalist arrested<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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A commercial flight was diverted to Belarus after a phony bomb threat that international leaders are calling a ploy to arrest a journalist critical of the country\u2019s president.<\/p>\n

A Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece to Lithuania was reportedly escorted by a fighter jet to the Belarus capital of Minsk, where journalist Roman Pratasevich was arrested during a seven-hour grounding.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw this Belarusian guy with girlfriend sitting right behind us,\u201d said passenger Marius Rutkauskas when the plane later arrived at its final destination in Vilnius, Lithuania\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe freaked out when the pilot said the plane is diverted to Minsk. He said there\u2019s death penalty awaiting him there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pratasevich is the founder of the Nexta channel on the Telegram app<\/a>, which Belarus has declared extremist after users coordinated protests on Nexta against President Alexander Lukashenko.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sat for an hour after the landing,\u201d Rutkauskas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen they started releasing passengers and took those two. We did not see them again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryanair was notified of a \u201cpotential security threat\u201d by Belarus but \u201cnothing untoward was found\u201d before the plane was cleared to take flight again, the airline said in a statement<\/a>. Belarus had notified the airline of a bomb threat but no explosives were found, according to the AP.<\/p>\n

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration is demanding the journalist\u2019s release and calling for an international investigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe strongly condemn the Lukashenka regime\u2019s brazen and shocking act to divert a commercial flight and arrest a journalist,\u201d Blinken said in a statement.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Opposition
Journalist Roman Pratasevich was arrested during a seven-hour grounding.<\/figcaption>
REUTERS\/Stringer<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIndependent media<\/a> are an essential pillar supporting the rule of law and a vital component of a democratic society,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States once again condemns the Lukashenka regime\u2019s ongoing harassment and arbitrary detention of journalists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lithuania\u2019s government issued a response calling the move an attack on Lithuania and a signal to the European Union and other countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the act of state terrorism directed against the security of citizens of the European Union and other countries, civil society of Belarus seeking asylum from the regime\u2019s persecution, as well as international civil aviation,\u201d the statement said.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe airspace of Belarus is unsafe for everyone,\u201d the statement went on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe EU must take effective measures to protect all individuals, regardless of their nationality, who are at risk from inadequate actions of the regime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four other people were taken off the plane in Minsk, Lithuania Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said, the AP reported.<\/p>\n

Lukashenko was the declared winner of a sixth term last year, but his win sparked protests in the country. Police detained roughly 30,000 people as a result.<\/p>\n

With Post wires<\/em>\n <\/div>\n