The Belarusian dictator is surpassing himself. In a completely unprecedented operation, Alexander Lukashenko, 66, ordered the hijacking of an airliner to recover an opponent. On the afternoon of May 23, Ryanair’s Boeing 737 from Athens to Vilnius, Lithuania; had to land in Minsk at the threat of a fighter plane. Of the 170 passengers, six never got back on board: four agents of the intelligence services in charge of the tracking and Roman Protassevich, 26, former editor-in-chief of the opposition media Nexta, as well as his partner Sofia Sapega.
As soon as he checked in at Athens airport, Roman Protassevich had suspicions. In the queue, he noticed the presence of a bald man seeking to photograph his documents. When the plane entered Belarusian space, men started an altercation with the crew. At the same time, the Belarusian authorities informed the pilot of the presence of a bomb on board. A MIG-29 immediately took off to intercept the Ryanair aircraft, which was however closer to Vilnius than to Minsk.
Roman Protassevich immediately understood. He turned to the people, explaining that it was “because of him” and that he risked the death penalty. The journalist was described as a “terrorist” by the Belarusian regime for having relayed on Nexta the huge demonstrations triggered by the fraudulent re-election of Lukashenko in August. He joined the 290 political prisoners in the country in addition to the thousands of people arrested in the streets and still detained. The European Union promises new sanctions against Minsk and calls for the release of the opponent.
Lithuanian MEP Petras Austrevicius analyzes the attitude of Europeans vis-à-vis the Belarusian regime and fears an inadequate response.
Point : What is your reaction to this event?
Petras Austrevicius; Even at the height of the Cold War, we have never seen such acts by a state. It is now clear that Lukashenko no longer sets limits. He stalks his opponents all over Europe on land and in the air and does not care about endangering other civilian lives.
It is a very well prepared cynical operation, probably with the support of the Russians. We see that the agents responsible for following Roman Protassevich from Athens and who left the plane in Minsk had Belarusian passports, but also Russian passports.
Do you think opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who had been in Greece a few days earlier, was targeted?
Svetlana took the same Athens-Vilnius plane a week earlier. Maybe it was also their plan to capture her, maybe they weren’t ready, we don’t know. For Roman, however, there is no doubt that he was their target. Don’t forget that the founders of the Nexta channel together with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya received the Sakharov Prize in October 2020 from the European Parliament.
Is the European Union providing the right answer?
We are outside of reality. We have not yet figured out what type of diet we are dealing with. For now, the European Union has imposed sanctions on 88 people in the regime, including Lukashenko himself, but this is not enough. This list should include members of the Belarusian KGB, representatives of the Interior Ministry, prosecutors and businessmen.
Isn’t that already the case?
Yes, but we have the possibility of sanctioning 200 to 300 additional people. These are people who are used to traveling and who could no longer travel to Europe. This would be an important message of solidarity sent to Belarusian civil society. It is also necessary to place on the list the persons in charge of the military hierarchy, because this operation was carried out with the planes of the army. Fighter jets that even followed the Ryanair plane after it took off from Minsk for Vilnius, which is just amazing! As for Lukashenko, he must also be punished in the name of the Magnitsky law adopted by Europe for violation of human rights.
Are there other possible sanctions?
First, all flights over Belarus must be canceled. It is the shortest route between Berlin and Moscow, but we no longer have to finance the authorities in Minsk in one way or another. And then we must impose a boycott of the country by asking the airlines to no longer serve Minsk. It will be financially painful for Europe, but it is imperative to send a strong signal of unity.
What are the obstacles to this signal of unity?
You have countries in the European Union that are dragging their feet like Hungary, Austria and even Germany, which cares a lot about its commercial interests. I have in mind the case of a Belarusian businessman who, thanks to his lawyers, succeeded in convincing German officials not to appear on the sanctions list. It is also good to know that the Siemens group currently has a 100 million euro investment project in Belarus to install gas turbines. When there is trade to be done, Europe turns a blind eye. That is why we are not taken seriously.
What do you expect from today’s European Council?
I am not very optimistic. There will be a debate, a request for an investigation from the civil aviation authorities, but I fear that there will be no immediate decision. I’m wondering. What more evidence do we need to act? Last week political prisoner Vitold Achourok died in prison. Political trials are starting at the moment in Belarus against former opponents. And then there is this mind-boggling case. What are we waiting for?
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