Belarus flights redirected after Roman Protasevich's arrest

  • 2021-05-25 17:23:02
Several European airlines have said that they will not fly over Belarus, days after a dissident journalist was arrested on a flight diverted to Minsk. Air France is the latest major carrier to ban overflights. Neighbouring Ukraine and Poland are stopping all flights to and from Belarus. Western countries accuse Belarus of hijacking the Ryanair plane carrying journalist Roman Protasevich on Sunday. The Greece-Lithuania flight was rerouted over a supposed bomb threat. Belarus authorities on Monday released video of Mr Protasevich that appears to have been recorded under duress. He faces charges related to his reporting of last August's disputed election and subsequent crackdown on mass opposition protests, and has said he fears the death penalty after being placed on a terrorism list. Belarus is the only European country that still executes prisoners. At a meeting in Brussels on Monday, the leaders of the 27 European Union member states called for the overflight ban, and promised further economic sanctions. On Tuesday, the Belarusian transport ministry released a transcript of a conversation said to be between an air traffic controller in Minsk and a pilot on Sunday's Ryanair flight. According to the transcript, which has not been independently verified, Belarus suggested several times that the plane should land in Minsk on "our recommendation". This appeared to contradict earlier statements from the Belarusian authorities that said the decision to land was made independently by the pilot.

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