Belarusian dictator Lukashenko ordered hijacking of commercial flight to arrest opposition journalist

The Belarusian opposition today accused the authoritarian regime Alexandr Lukashenko for hijacking a plane to Minsk on its way to Vilna, the capital of Lithuania, with the excuse of a false bomb warning to arrest an opposition journalist who had fled to the foreign.

“The regime forced a plane to land to arrest Roman Protasevich. He risks the death penalty in Belarus, ”denounced Svetlana Tijanóvskaya, leader of the opposition in exile, on Twitter.

Protasevich, former director of the Telegram channel Nexta Said wanted and captured, he was arrested after the Ryanair airline plane he was traveling in made an emergency landing at Minsk airport due to an alleged bomb warning.

The journalist, who was traveling from Athens to Vilnius, was arrested when passengers were forced to undergo another check at Minsk airport.

The journalist, whose media was the main source of information during the first weeks of anti-government protests after the fraudulent presidential elections in August 2020, noticed that he was being followed in Athens, allegedly by Belarusian KGB agents.

At Minsk airport they reported that it was the pilots themselves who requested the emergency landing, while at Vilna airport they spoke of a conflict between the pilots and some passengers.

Nexta says it was KGB agents who sounded the alarm about an alleged explosive device inside the device.

Sources close to the presidency reported that it was Lukashenko who personally ordered the interception of the plane, which was escorted by a MiG-19 fighter, with the supposed aim of defending Europe from a threat to its security.

“The regime threatened the passengers on board and all civil aviation to repress a person (…). We demand the immediate release of Roman, an investigation and sanctions against Belarus ”, assured Tijanóvskaya.

Last November, the Investigating Committee accused Protasevich and Stepan Putilo, founders of Nexta, of organizing mass riots and incitement to hatred against officials and the police, after which the KGB included them on the list of terrorists.

Belarusian justice considered Nexta an extremist organization for calling on Belarusians to demonstrate, block roads, call strikes and coordinate anti-government protests.

Hundreds of journalists have been arrested and nearly a dozen have been in prison since protests broke out in the former Soviet republic, which is why it has been classified as the most dangerous place in Europe for the press by Reporters without limits.

This week, several workers and journalists of the popular opposition portal tut.by, whose access was blocked in connection with a criminal case for tax evasion, were arrested.

Well-known opponent Vitold Ashurok, who was serving a five-year sentence for participating in protests against Lukashenko, died in strange circumstances in prison this week, according to local press.

That same week, Lukashenko promulgated a national security law that expands the powers of the police and other state forces, which can use military weapons to quell mass unrest.

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