Minsk, Belarus:
Authorities in Belarus on Monday insisted they acted legally when they diverted a passenger plane carrying an opposition activist, accusing the West of generating unfounded claims for political causes.
The government of strongman Alexander Lukashenko provoked worldwide fury on Sunday by pulling Ryanair flight FR4978 from its Athens-to-Vilnius route and arresting one of the passengers, opposition journalist and blogger Roman Protasevich, in Minsk.
Western leaders named it an “act of state terrorism” and the EU is anticipated to toughen sanctions against Belarus on Monday.
Ireland described the forced diversion of the flight operated by an Irish airline as a state-sponsored act of “aviation piracy”.
“There is no doubt that the actions of our competent authorities… fully met established international rules,” Belarusian foreign ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz mentioned, accusing the West of “politicising” the circumstance.
“Unfounded accusations are being made,” he mentioned in a statement, accusing the West of not wanting to be objective and threatening to slap new sanctions on Belarus.
Glaz mentioned it was “sad” that the passengers of the Ryanair flight “faced some inconvenience”.
“However the rules of aviation security are an absolute priority,” he added.
Belarus authorities mentioned the plane had to make an emergency landing in Minsk following a bomb scare that turned out to be false.
Belarus state media has defended the use of a MiG-29 jet to divert the passenger plane, claiming authorities had no other selection.
Protasevich, 26, is a Belarusian journalist and activist.
Together with co-founder Stepan Putilo he till not too long ago ran the Nexta telegram channel that galvanised and directed substantial protests against Lukashenko’s disputed re-election to a sixth term in August 2020.
Last year, Protasevich and Putilo had been accused by Belarusian authorities of a quantity of crimes such as organising mass riots. Protasevich left the Nexta project last year.
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