Lithuanian President demands immediate release of Belarusian activist aboard Ryanair flight

Lithuanian President Gitana Nauseda today demanded that Belarus release Belarusian opposition activist Roman Protasevic, who He was on a plane bound for Vilnius, but he swerved to land in Minsk.

Ryanair’s commercial flight was ordered to land by force, the president said in an e-mailed statement.

“I urge NATO and EU allies to respond immediately to the threat posed by the Belarussian regime to international civil aviation. “The international community must take immediate steps to prevent this from happening again,” he said.

He promised to discuss the issue tomorrow, Monday, at an EU summit.

Presidential Adviser Asta Skiesgiraite said the operation to divert the plane, which was carrying about 170 people from 12 countries, appeared to be pre-planned.

According to the Belarusian secret services, they knew who was on the plane, which was forced to land with the help of a MIG-29 fighter. Protasevic has lived in Vilnius since November, the presidential adviser said.

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