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A Ryanair plane that carried Belarusian opposition blogger and activist Roman Protasevich and was diverted to Belarus, where he was arrested by the authorities, lands at Vilnius Airport in Vilnius, Lithuania on May 23, 2021. REUTERS / Andrius Sytas
A Ryanair plane that carried Belarusian opposition blogger and activist Roman Protasevich and was diverted to Belarus, where the authorities arrested him, lands at Vilnius Airport in Vilnius, Lithuania on May 23, 2021. REUTERS / Andrius Sytas
A Ryanair plane that carried Belarusian opposition blogger and activist Roman Protasevich and was diverted to Belarus, where the authorities arrested him, lands at Vilnius Airport in Vilnius, Lithuania on May 23, 2021. REUTERS / Andrius Sytas
Brendan Kelly Palenque and Gabija Gataveckaite
Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Belarus to arrest a journalist was « aviation piracy ».
The journalist and blogger Roman Protasevich, who ran an opposition social media telegram channel NEXTA from Belarus, was arrested when the plane landed.
« This can only be described as government sponsored aviation piracy. What happened here was a Ryanair flight from Athens to Athens Vilnius full of EU citizens. It’s an Irish airline. The plane is actually registered in Poland, « Coveney said this morning at the Newstalk Breakfast.
» You were much closer to Vilnius than Minsk than the Belarusian authorities were actually by plane communicated and said there was a security risk, suggesting there was a bomb on board, the plane effectively in min let sk land.
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A Ryanair plane that carried Belarusian opposition blogger and activist Roman Protasevich and was diverted to Belarus, where he was arrested by the authorities, lands at Vilnius Airport in Vilnius, Lithuania on May 23, 2021. REUTERS / Andrius Sytas
« The plane was then escorted to landing by a military jet, and when they landed one person was effectively arrested – removed from the plane – which would certainly not be standard practice when there was the possibility of a bomb on board .
« And five or six people effectively got off the plane. Only one of them was arrested, which would suggest the others were intelligence agents. And I mean, this is practically a state kidnapping carried out by a regime run by a dictator. «
Mr Coveney added that there will be a European Council tonight to discuss the matter further and he believes action will be taken against Belarus.
» I think you will See EU decisions to increase sanctions against Belarus and possibly link this to aviation. But we have to wait, it’s early, ”he said.
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A Ryanair plane that carried Belarusian opposition blogger and activist Roman Protasevich and was diverted to Belarus, where he was arrested by the authorities, lands at Vilnius Airport in Vilnius, Lithuania on May 23, 2021. REUTERS / Andrius Sytas
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Ursula von der Leyen, Head of the European Commission, said « the outrageous and illegal behavior » will have « consequences ».
In the meantime, the Seanad has heard calls for a « strong » reaction from the Council and after Sanctions against state-sponsored Belarusian companies.
Fianna Fáil’s Senator Malcolm Byrne said around 30,000 people were illegally detained on foot in Belarus for protests against the Lukashenko regime.
He said this a « crucial moment » for the EU Council and that it must take « strong measures ».
« Any journalist or anyone who wants to disagree can become a victim of this state-sponsored piracy. What is happening in Belarus is is no longer acceptable, « he said.
» This is about European values. The actions we are taking now are the defining moment for Europe. «
Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair today described the incident as a « sta At least sponsored kidnapping « and added that he couldn’t say too much about the situation as the EU and NATO are dealing with it.
» I think it was very scary for the crews, for the passengers, who were kept under armed guard and their bags were searched, « he said.
» It was clear that the Russian authorities intended to remove a journalist and his travel companion. And we believe that some KGB agents dumped the plane too. “
He added that it is possible that flights will have to be diverted around Belarus as a result of this incident.
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A Ryanair plane that carried Belarusian opposition blogger and activist Roman Protasevich and was diverted to Belarus, where he was arrested by the authorities, lands at Vilnius Airport in Vilnius, Lithuania on May 23, 2021. REUTERS / Andrius Sytas
« I think we, like all European airlines, are seeking advice from the European authorities and NATO today, » he said.
« We asked them if we should fly through Belarus . I mean, we don’t fly much over Belarus. I think it would be a very minor adjustment to fly over Poland, but we will take our lead from the European security agencies. «
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