{"id":66357,"date":"2021-05-23T16:10:58","date_gmt":"2021-05-23T20:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=66357"},"modified":"2021-05-23T16:10:58","modified_gmt":"2021-05-23T20:10:58","slug":"belarus-arrests-anti-lukashenko-journalist-after-diverting-flight-with-mig-fighters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=66357","title":{"rendered":"Belarus Arrests Anti-Lukashenko Journalist After Diverting Flight with MIG Fighters"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Belarus Sends MiG Fighters To Divert Foreign Airliner, Arrests Anti-Lukashenko Journalist On Board<\/h1>\n<p>ZeroHedge.com<\/p>\n<p>A bizarre and alarming incident which officials are calling unprecedented unfolded over the skies of Eastern Europe on Sunday. A Ryanair flight which had departed Athens\u00a0and was en route to Vilnius &#8211; the capital of Lithuania &#8211; was\u00a0<strong>forced to land in Belarus\u00a0<\/strong>to allow\u00a0state intelligence and security services to<strong>\u00a0detain a journalist who&#8217;s long been critical of President Alexander Lukashenko<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Bloomberg has identified the detained journalist is Raman Pratasevich,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bnnbloomberg.ca\/belarus-detains-reporter-on-ryanair-flight-forced-down-in-minsk-1.1607620\">described as<\/a>\u00a0&#8220;the former editor-in-chief of the most popular Telegram news channel in Belarus&#8221; who was &#8220;arrested in the Minsk airport after the plane landed, according to the Minsk-based human rights center Viasna, which is not officially registered by the country\u2019s authorities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1396443632954183681&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Fbelarus-sends-mig-fighters-divert-commercial-plane-arrests-anti-lukashenko-journalist&amp;sessionId=e4b606760b58537be1f03dcf03edcd5620adf46b&amp;siteScreenName=zerohedge&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1396443632954183681\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"Advert_desktop__1J5vD Advert_tablet__3QEBr Advert_mobile__1rlLc Advert_placement__1I4yb Advert_align__N0_fw\"><\/div>\n<p>Neighboring Lithuania had\u00a0<strong>earlier issued Pratasevich asylum<\/strong>\u00a0after Belarusian authorities had put him on a\u00a0<strong>&#8220;terror\u00a0watch list&#8221;<\/strong>\u00a0related to his journalistic activities, given the 26-year old blogger and activist helped spearhead last year&#8217;s anti-Lukashenko demonstrations which at times shut down large parts of central Minsk\u00a0following the disputed August 2020 election which resulted in prolonging the autocrat&#8217;s rule to a sixth term (which will see him into three decades in power).<\/p>\n<p>The journalist has been dubbed an &#8220;extremist&#8221; for his role in covering and participating in protests which officials also alleged\u00a0there was a &#8220;foreign hand&#8221; behind which had covert NATO support. Pratasevich now faces a severe sentence &#8211;\u00a0if he even goes to trial at all, with\u00a0some supporters going so far as to suggest\u00a0a possible death penalty case.<\/p>\n<p>Astoundingly, Belarus&#8217; military had\u00a0<strong>scrambled MiG fighter jets in order to divert the plane to Minsk<\/strong>.\u00a0<em>Bloomberg<\/em>\u00a0continues, &#8220;The plane, which was flying over Belarus en route to Lithuania, was\u00a0<strong>escorted to Minsk by a MiG-29 fighter jet after a bomb threat<\/strong>, Belarusian state news agency Belta reported, citing the Minsk airport\u2019s press service.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1396435123592179714&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Fbelarus-sends-mig-fighters-divert-commercial-plane-arrests-anti-lukashenko-journalist&amp;sessionId=e4b606760b58537be1f03dcf03edcd5620adf46b&amp;siteScreenName=zerohedge&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1396435123592179714\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>The bomb threat, however, is being widely perceived as but a\u00a0ruse which ensured the plane would be on Belarusian soil in order to facilitate the controversial detention.<\/p>\n<p>Germany&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/belarus-diverts-plane-to-arrest-journalist-says-opposition\/a-57635240\"><em>Deutsche Welle<\/em>\u00a0details<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>An airport spokesperson told the agency that although authorities did not find any explosive devices on the plane, it was unclear when it\u00a0would be allowed to take off again.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The opposition Telegram channel Nexta also reported that the plane was searched and that authorities detained the outlet&#8217;s former editor, Roman Protasevich.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>&#8220;The plane was checked, no bomb was found and all passengers were sent for another security search,&#8221;<\/strong>\u00a0said Nexta.\u00a0<strong>&#8220;Among them was&#8230; Nexta journalist Roman Protasevich. He was detained.&#8221;<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure class=\"caption caption-img inline-images image-style-inline-images\" role=\"group\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.zerohedge.com\/s3fs-public\/styles\/inline_image_mobile\/public\/inline-images\/nextaimage.jpg?itok=FbTxGnAR\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"cc2d275b-9a87-414b-9632-d765754e409b\" data-responsive-image-style=\"inline_images\" \/><figcaption><em>Image via NEXTA<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The episode is quickly gaining international attention and raising alarm in NATO and the European Union, with\u00a0Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda issuing a statement on Twitter condemning the &#8220;unprecedented&#8221; and &#8220;abhorrent&#8221; action of Lukashenko&#8217;s government.<\/p>\n<p>President Nauseda also said in a written statement released to international press agencies that:\u00a0<strong>&#8220;I call on NATO and EU allies to immediately react to the threat posed to international civil aviation by the Belarus regime.&#8221;\u00a0<\/strong>He added,<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>&#8220;The international community must take immediate steps that this does not repeat.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1396454557866242050&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Fbelarus-sends-mig-fighters-divert-commercial-plane-arrests-anti-lukashenko-journalist&amp;sessionId=e4b606760b58537be1f03dcf03edcd5620adf46b&amp;siteScreenName=zerohedge&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1396454557866242050\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Also interesting will be the\u00a0<strong>added pressure on both Belarus and Lukashenko-ally Putin\u00a0<\/strong>over the brazen intervention in a foreign airline&#8217;s flight path (Ryanair DAC is based in Ireland and did not immediately comment in the hours after the incident), given especially the two leaders are expected to meet again in Sochi this week,\u00a0<em>Rossiya-1<\/em>\u00a0television reported.<\/p>\n<p>Putin has been widely seen in the West as enabling Lukashenko&#8217;s dictatorial rule, with Russian officials also seeing recent protests in the former Soviet satellite state as West-backed &#8216;color revolution&#8217; activity fueled by external powers designed to expand NATO influence by seeking overthrow of Russia-friendly governments.<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/geopolitical\/belarus-sends-mig-fighters-divert-commercial-plane-arrests-anti-lukashenko-journalist\">https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/geopolitical\/belarus-sends-mig-fighters-divert-commercial-plane-arrests-anti-lukashenko-journalist<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Belarus Sends MiG Fighters To Divert Foreign Airliner, Arrests Anti-Lukashenko Journalist On Board ZeroHedge.com A bizarre and alarming incident which officials are calling unprecedented unfolded over the skies of Eastern Europe on Sunday. A Ryanair flight which had departed Athens\u00a0and &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=66357\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=66357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66357\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=66357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=66357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=66357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}