Reactions and anger are mounting over the arrest of Belarusian dissident journalist Roman Protasevic, following a forced landing in Minsk accompanied by a fighter jet from a Ryanair plane that flew him from Athens to Vilnius.
The BBC is conducting a review of what happened and what we know so far about the case.
It is recalled that along with Protasevic, his Russian partner Sofia Sapega was also arrested.
Why the plane landed in Belarus
The flight of Ryanair FR4978 took off from Athens to Vilnius, Lithuania on Sunday afternoon. As described by the passengers, the journey was calm and the aircraft had begun its gradual descent to Vilnius when it suddenly made a sharp change of course.
According to a transcript released by the Belarusian Ministry of Transport, air traffic controllers told the pilot at 9:30 a.m.: “There is a bomb on the plane and can be fired over Vilnius. ” Although the plane was closer to Vilnius than to Minsk, the pilot was ordered to change course to the Belarusian capital. At 9:47 the pilot declared a state of emergency.
Belarussian television reports earlier, again based on the transcript, showed the crew had requested a landing in Minsk.
The aircraft landed at 10:16. It was accompanied by an MIG fighter to the airport.
From the opposition, Pavel Latushko complained that the Belarus had threatened to shoot down the aircraft. Exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said she had traveled on the same flight a week earlier.
When the 126 passengers disembarked, police arrested Protasevic and his partner.
Belarus has denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating “Similar, baseless allegations concerning Belarus have been made more than once.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel described Belarus’ claim as “completely unfounded”.
What do we know about Protasevic and his partner?
Roman Protasevic is a former editor of Nexta, a news organization opposed to the popular Telegram messaging channel. He left Belarus in 2019 to live in exile in Lithuania. Nexta has become a major channel for protesters challenging last August’s presidential election, which has been accused of rigging elections.
After the Ryanair plane landed, eyewitnesses reported that Protasevic was terrified. Nexta reported, citing his mother, that he had heart problems.
However, in a video released on Monday, Protashevich said he was in good health and appeared to confess to the crimes attributed to him by the Belarusian state.
Activists, including members of the opposition, say Protasevic was forced to say what he said and his father told the BBC he feared his son could be tortured.
According to Sofia Sapega’s mother, the couple was returning from a vacation in Greece and the 23-year-old was transferred to a prison in Minsk. The last word she managed to write on her WhatsApp account was “manoula”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Sapega was detained for 72 hours on suspicion of committing crimes committed in August and September 2020, after which Belarus would decide “whether to impose a restrictive measure”.
Her father told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti that their detention had been extended to two months.
Sapega is studying law at Vilnius University and was preparing for her final exams.
Although she was born in Russia, she lived most of her life in Belarus, according to a fellow student, adding that she was not an opposition activist.
Her university reacted to the actions of the Belarusian authorities.
Anna Dudich’s mother told BBC Russian that Sophia did not work for Tichanovskaya in Lithuania.
“She met Roman just a year and a half ago,” he added.
Who else did not return to the aircraft
Apart from Protasevic and his partner, it is believed that at least three other passengers remained in Belarus.
Belarusian television has dismissed as ill-fated reports that several intelligence agents were on board. Its head Ryanair Michael O’Leary said KGB agents may have boarded, a position backed by Irish Foreign Minister Simon Cowney.
However, as the BBC notes, Greek media have named three passengers who are said to have stayed in Minsk, which were also reported on Belarus state television. Jason Zisis, a doctoral researcher at the University of Eindhoven, told Belarusian television that he was visiting his wife in Minsk, so it made sense for him to go down there. The television also reported Alexandra Stabredova, who said she had been asked to stay in Minsk. Sergei Kulakov said his final destination was the town of Vitebsk in northern Belarus.
Russia says Sapega was the only Russian woman left in Minsk.
What sanctions does Protasevic face?
The journalist is facing charges of inciting disobedience after the events in the 2020 presidential elections were covered from abroad. This charge carries a possible prison sentence of up to 15 years. However, Protasevic tweeted a list of KGB suspects for terrorism last year, adding that he had been placed on it alongside Islamic State jihadists.
When the aircraft landed at Minsk, Protasevic told another passenger: “Here the death penalty awaits me”. According to some reports, terrorism charges in Belarus may be linked to the death penalty.
Belarus is the only country in Europe and the former USSR that still imposes and carries out the death penalty. According to Amnesty International, no executions took place last year but in 2019 there were two.
Journalists have been arrested in recent months and have been targeted independently. On Tuesday, Belarus sentenced seven activists – including a senior opposition figure – to four to seven years in prison for participating in protests last year.[πολίτευσης-σεποινέςαπότέσσεραέως7χρόνιαφυλάκισηςγιατησυμμετοχήτουςστιςδιαδηλώσειςπέρσι
Another political activist arrested in connection with the riots, 50-year-old Vitold Ashurok, died of a heart attack in prison last week.
Reporters Without Borders has called on the UN to investigate the “persecution of journalists”, following allegations by two journalists that they had been tortured.
What Ryanair said
In its initial announcement, the airline said the plane had been given the green light to take off – after a 7-hour wait in Minsk – with passengers and crew. There was no mention of the Belarusian journalist and the arrest of him and his partner. The announcement changed the next day and condemned the “hijacking”.
A company spokesman said Monday that it was scary for the crew and passengers.
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