Riga, demonstration of solidarity (Ansa)

  • Belarus becomes 'No-fly zone'.

    New European sanctions

  • Hijacked plane, the Farnesina summons the Ambassador of Belarus

  • Hijacked plane, von der Leyen: 3 billion EU aid to Belarus frozen

  • The Ryanair plane "hijacked" in Belarus.

    The EU convenes the ambassador of Minsk

  • Belarus hijacks Ryanair flight to arrest exiled dissident

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May 25, 2021 The Russian citizen Sofia Sapega, companion of Roman Prosatevich, arrested together with the opponent in Minsk, was arrested for two months. This was reported by Meduza quoting her lawyer Alexander Filanovich. "Sofia was interrogated today. She was charged with a criminal offense. A preventive measure was ordered: detention for two months. The place of detention is the KGB Preventive Detention Center. The investigation is conducted by the Main Investigation Department. of the Belarusian Investigative Committee. A non-disclosure agreement has been signed. Adequate legal assistance has been and will continue to be provided to you. "



Urgent meeting of the UN Council tomorrow

The UN Security Council will hold an urgent meeting tomorrow on Belarus following the hijacking of Ryanair's passenger plane. Diplomatic sources from the UNHCR make it known. The EU members of the Council wanted the meeting behind closed doors.



Dragons: an act of international piracy

During the European Council, on Belarus, "the act" of the hijacking of the Ryanair flight "was deprecated as unacceptable, calling it an act of international piracy, there was talk of the sanctions to be taken and the fact that sanctions could be taken that could not be hit the civilian population ". Prime Minister Mario Draghi said this at a press conference in Brussels. And then: the sanctions on Belarus "are balanced and well directed, we all felt the duty to take these sanctions and condemn the act of Belarus. If there are reactions from Russia, we will see them: we are a strong continent. We must not consider ourselves this way. weak when we make strong decisions from a humanitarian point of view ".



Merkel: Do everything to free the reporter

"We should use all channels at our disposal to obtain" the release of the journalist Roman Protasevich, who is detained by the Belarusian authorities. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the end of the EU summit. "I was deeply touched and heartbroken by what I saw" in the reporter's video released yesterday evening, Merkel added, stressing that "our request to release him as quickly as possible is made even more urgent by the comments of his parents" .



Ukraine will suspend air traffic with Belarus

Ukraine will suspend air traffic with Belarus starting tomorrow: this was announced by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal, taken over by the Interfax agency. "Ukraine will stop air traffic with Belarus starting at midnight on May 26," said the Ukrainian premier. On Sunday a Ryanair plane flying from Athens to Vilnius was forced by the Belarusian authorities to land in Minsk: on board was the journalist and dissident Roman Protasevich, who was then stopped by the Belarusian police. The arrest provoked a strong reaction from the EU and other countries. "The Belarusian authorities stop at nothing in persecuting dissidents. Even its airspace is insecure now," said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba.according to the Kyiv Post.



Lithuania in Icao: declare unsafe airspace

Lithuania has officially asked the International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao) to recognize Belarusian airspace as unsafe. This was reported by the Lithuanian Ministry of Transport. The Lithuanian government has also asked ICAO to open an investigation into the affair of the Athens-Vilnius flight forced to land in Minsk in order to allow the Belarusian authorities to arrest a dissident journalist. (AGI) Rus



Father dissident: it is clear that he was beaten up

Roman Protasevich's father said he was certain his son was beaten up. "It is clear that he was physically damaged because you can see the marks of a beating on his face," Dmitry Protasevich told AFP, commenting on the video of the opponent's 'confession' broadcast on Belarusian TV. The father also said he believed Roman was missing teeth. "He was very nervous. He spoke in a way that was unusual for him. He would never speak like that. Clearly he was reading something he was told to read," he said. The father said he had talked to his son on Saturday, one day before flying from Athens to Vilnius. "We have no news from him. We still don't know where he is, what his condition is, how he feels",the father, who lives in Poland, said by phone.



Thus the Belarusians deceived the pilots: "The bomb will explode in Lithuania"

The explosive (which never existed) on Ryanair's Boeing 737, according to the threats collected by the Belarusian 007s, would have exploded in Lithuania, the final destination of the plane. This is why it was "recommended" to divert to Minsk. But when the pilot began to have some suspicions about the goodness of that information - asking from whom it came the indication to go down to the Belarusian capital - it was the ground controller who explained that the "recommendation" came from Minsk. Once on the ground, the police arrested the activist-journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega: "Get off in Minsk"



According to the transcript of the dialogues of Ryanair flight FR4978 Athens-Vilnius published by the Belarusian Department of Aviation, it was not the pilots who requested the landing, but the control tower. "Ryanair flight gets us the information from the special services (local, ed) that you have a bomb on board and that it can be detonated over Vilnius," the Belarusian airspace controller said at 09:30:49 in the morning. "For safety reasons we advise you to land at the UMMS (the Icao code of the Minsk airport, ed)", they continue from the ground at one minute later. "Ok, I get it, give us an alternative please", asks the Ryanair pilot. An alternative that will never actually be provided, perhaps also exploiting the emotional impact on the cockpit.



The transcription

09:30:49 Control Tower: Ryanair flight, here Minsk. Pilot: yes, go ahead. Tower: For your information, we have information from special services that you have a bomb on board that can be triggered on Vilnius.



09:31:17 Pilot: Could you repeat the message? Tower: We have information from special services that you have a bomb on board. That bomb can be triggered on Vilnius. Pilot: received, wait.



09:31:42 Tower: Ryanair flight for safety reasons we recommend that you land at UMMS (Minsk, ed). Pilot: ok… understood, give us an alternative please.



09:32:59 Pilot: the bomb ... the direct message, where did it come from? Where did you get the information about it? Tower: please wait (...) Airport security has informed us that they have received an email. Pilot: the security officers of the airport of Vilnius or of Greece? Tower: It is an email shared with several airports



09:34:49 Pilot: Could you give us the frequency of the company (incomprehensible) so that we can (incomprehensible). Tower: repeat what frequency you need. Pilot: We just have to get in touch with the company's operations, if there is a frequency for this (incomprehensible).