Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary on Monday said Belarus’ use of a bogus bomb threat to divert one of his carrier’s commercial flights and arrest an opposition journalist amounted to “state-sponsored hijacking” as outrage continued to build across Europe and Western leaders vowed there would be swift consequences for authoritarian Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.
Belarusian activist Raman Pratasevich was detained after the Ryanair plane in which he was traveling was diverted to Minsk over the weekend because of the supposed threat.
No bomb was found, however. Belarus’ official press service said Mr. Lukashenko personally ordered a Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jet to accompany the Ryanair plane, which was traveling from Greece to Lithuania, through the diverted landing in Minsk.
The 26-year-old Mr. Pratasevich, whose Russian girlfriend also was reportedly detained, is a founder of a widely used messaging app channel that has been a key information conduit for the Belarusian opposition that has been demanding for months that Mr. Lukashenko step down and hold new elections.
Acting with unusual swiftness, the 27 nations of the European Union late Monday announced a string of sanctions against Minsk, including banning its airlines from using the airspace and airports of the 27-nation bloc. EU leaders also urged all EU-based carriers to avoid flying over Belarus, ordered up sanctions on officials linked to Sunday’s flight diversion, and urged the International Civil Aviation Organization to start an investigation into what some said amounted to state terrorism or piracy, the Associated Press reported.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said “the scandalous incident in Belarus shows signs of state terrorism and it’s unbelievable,” while EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it amounted to a “hijacking.”
Speaking to Ireland’s “Newstalk Breakfast,” Mr. O’Leary said the diversion was clearly suspicious and a frightening ordeal for passengers and crew.
“We’re debriefing our crew, who did a phenomenal job to get that aircraft and almost all the passengers out of Minsk after six hours,” he told the program. “It appears the intent of the authorities was to remove a journalist and his traveling companion. … We believe there were some KGB agents offloaded at the airport as well.”
“This was a case of state-sponsored hijacking,” he said.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden was briefed on the incident and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan raised the issue during his call with his Russian counterpart on Monday. Russia and Belarus have grown increasingly close as Mr. Lukashenko’s isolation from the West has increased in recent months.
In a statement Monday evening, Mr. Biden called both the plane seizure and the Pratasevich arrest “shameful assaults on both political dissent and the freedom of the press” and said he had “asked my team to develop appropriate options to hold accountable those responsible, in close coordination with the European Union” and others.
Mr. Lukashenko, an embattled leader often referred to as Europe’s “last dictator,” continues to face popular resistance and international criticism over a presidential election last August that was widely denounced as fraudulent. The onetime Soviet bureaucrat has been in power since 1994.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a number of top lawmakers on Capitol Hill condemned the arrest and demanded the journalist’s release. Mr. Blinken said the “shocking” plane diversion imperiled 120 passengers, including U.S. citizens.
The AP reported that a brief video clip of Mr. Pratasevich was shown on Belarusian state television Monday night, a day after his ordeal aboard the Ryanair flight.
Sitting at a table with his hands folded in front of him and speaking rapidly, Mr. Pratasevich said he was in satisfactory health and said his treatment in custody was “maximally correct and according to law.” He added that he was giving evidence to investigators about organizing mass disturbances.
Mr. Lukashenko and his regime did not appear fazed by the international reaction. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry rejected what it said were “belligerent” EU statements, and Mr. Lukashenko himself on Monday signed into law new provisions that critics say will make it tougher to protest organizers to stage mass events, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
Guy Taylor and David R. Sands contributed to this report
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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