EU officials and other western leaders have condemned Belarus after it was accused of "hijacking" a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania on Sunday following an alleged bomb threat.
A Ryanair flight was forced to land in Minsk following an alleged bomb threat. Photo: aromano Licence: CC BY
The incident has caused Brussels to consider actions such as banning its national carrier for EU airports or declaring the country's airspace as unsafe as well as other options include outright travel bans and asset freezes.
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EU officials have referred to the incident as an act of "air piracy" after the plane carrying 171 passengers was forced to land in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.
Following the forced landing, Roman Protasevich, the former editor of Nexta, one of the nation's largest independent press organisations, was detained. Critics within the EU have blasted this as an act against dissenting opinions.
Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich was arrested after the plane was forced to land in Minsk. Credit: Reuters
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary told the Newstalk breakfast show that the "intent was for authorities to remove a journalist and his travelling companion" from the flight. He speculated KGB agents were "offloaded at the airport" as well without offering any evidence.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the event as "outrageous and illegal" in a tweet on Sunday.
Officials in a number of countries, including the US, UK, Germany and other EU member states have gone so far as to refer to the incident as an "act of state terror."
The relationship between Belarus and the wider EU has been shaky over the past year over what officials describe as "authoritarian" moves by President Lukashenko, such as crackdowns on protestors following the last election - a direct violation of freedom of expression.
His premiership has been in dispute since last September when the opposition accused him of rigging the election to win a sixth term.
Belarus has no tenure cap for its head of state, meaning they can remain seated indefinitely.
The EU has been attempting to pull Minsk away from Russia's sway, but Sunday's events prove this may be faltering.
However, the Lukashenko regime has defended their actions and have accused the EU of making "warlike statements."
Anatoly Glaz, a spokesman for Belarus' foreign ministry said Belarusian aviation authorities "acted in complete accordance with established international rules."
"EU countries should stop rushing to make openly warlike statements and deliberately politicising the situation with baseless accusations and labels," he added.
Russia also referred to the EU's response as "shocking."
Reports also circulated that Minsk ordered a fighter jet to escort the plane to the airport, something the government have denied.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the country's opposition leader has called for an international no-fly zone to be placed over Belarus and urged further sanctions on its lucrative energy sector.
She has also expressed concerns for the safety of the captured journalist, stating her team of lawyers were trying to reach him in prison.
Her team told Sky News on Monday: “We don’t know the updated information at the moment, but I am sure that he is in awful circumstances.
“I am sure that he has been tortured because he knows a lot of information. He was a leader of one famous Telegram channel about civil society, about the situation in Belarus, and he is considered to be like a private enemy of Lukashenko.
“So we are really afraid not only for his freedom but for his life.”
Ryanair's CEO O'Leary has stated Ryanair staff will give full debriefings to NATO and EU authorities on Monday. He admitted he is awaiting advice on whether he should operate within the country's airspace again.
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