In the aftermath of the interception of a commercial flight from the Irish company Ryanair, forced to land in Minsk, and the arrest of an opponent on board, the versions clash around this hijacking.

The Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, denounced, Monday, May 24, as an act of "state piracy" this forced landing.

"It was indeed state-sanctioned air piracy," the chief diplomat told Irish public broadcaster RTE.

"We cannot allow this incident to occur with warnings or strong press releases" as a response, he added, calling for "sanctions".

Roman Protassevich, 26, former editor-in-chief of the influential Belarusian opposition media Nexta, was arrested Sunday afternoon at Minsk airport following the emergency landing of the Ryanair aircraft , following a false bomb threat.

KGB agents on board?

Belarusian security service (KGB) agents are suspected of being on the Ryanair plane, said Irish airline boss Michael O'Leary, also denouncing an act of "piracy". supported by Belarus. "It appears that the intention of the authorities was to remove a journalist and the person who was traveling with him," he explained on Irish radio Newstalk. "We believe that KGB agents were disembarked at the airport as well," he added, referring to an incident "very frightening" for the passengers and the crew. "I think this is the first time this has happened to a European airline."

For its part, Belarus said on Monday that it had acted legally. "There is no doubt that the actions of our competent bodies were in accordance with international rules," the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on its website, rejecting the "baseless accusations" of European countries, accused of politicizing the incident. "It is from a security point of view (...) that this incident must be looked at," he said, referring to the bomb threat which led to the landing in Minsk the Ryanair flight connecting Greece to Lithuania, two EU countries.

Russian diplomacy, for its part, on Monday deemed "shocking" the Western accusations against Belarus.

"It is shocking that the West considers the incident in Belarusian airspace to be 'shocking'," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova quipped on Facebook, noting that states Westerners have in the past been guilty of "kidnappings, forced landings and illegal arrests."

"An inadmissible measure"

The EU was outraged by the voice of its high representative. The hijacking of a plane owned by a European Union company flying between two capitals of the European bloc is an "unacceptable measure", Josep Borrell denounced in a statement on Monday, adding that this measure would be discussed at the European summit. "The EU will examine the consequences of this action, including taking action against those responsible," he said.

Meeting at a summit in Brussels, the heads of state and government of the EU are due to examine Monday evening new sanctions against the authoritarian regime in Minsk in reaction to this hijacking.

Around 100 Belarusian officials, including President Alexander Lukashenko, are already under European sanctions because of human rights abuses in the former Soviet Republic.

On Sunday, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had already indicated on Twitter that "the scandalous and illegal behavior of the government in Belarus will have consequences".

"We need actions, not words"

On Sunday evening, the Ryanair aircraft, which linked Greece to Lithuania, a Baltic country member of the European Union, was able to resume its flight, without Roman Protassevich.

Lithuania and Latvia have called on international flight operators to no longer pass through Belarusian airspace.

The leader of the Belarusian opposition Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa asked on RTE the "immediate" opening of an "international investigation".

According to her, "the escalation of violence in Belarus is the result of impunity, so we have to put a lot of pressure on the regime."

"We need actions, not words. Mere words of condemnation are not enough," insisted Franak Viacorka, journalist and friend of Roman Protassevich, on the BBC.

He confided that the latter had expressed concerns to him before his departure to Athens airport, where he said he was followed. 

"I can't imagine what is happening to him right now," he added.

"His girlfriend was arrested with him. She is a Russian citizen (...) They will take revenge, punish them both."

With AFP and Reuters

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