Belarus Hijacks Plane

https://www.axios.com/ryanair-belarus-hijacking-d4553d38-2007-4f4c-870d-93cbf2d07339.html

Ryanair CEO: Forced landing in Belarus was "state-sponsored hijacking"

The forced landing of a Ryanair passenger airplane by Belarusian officials was “a state-sponsored hijacking" meant to target a journalist and dissident on board, Michael O’Leary, the airline's CEO, told Politico.

Why it matters: The diversion of the plane was an attempt by Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko to "remove" journalist Roman Protasevich, a prominent opposition figure living in exile, O'Leary said.

Lukashenko, known as "Europe's last dictator, has cracked down on mass protests and dissent in the wake of a fraudulent election last year.

The plane was in Belarusian airspace headed to Lithuania when pilots were told to land in Minsk because of “a potential security threat on board," per a Ryanair statement.

Protasevich, who reportedly told other passengers he was facing the death penalty, was arrested during the stop. No bomb was found on board.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top EU officials have demanded Protasevich's immediate release.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/belarus-facing-global-fury-after-plane-carrying-opposition-journalist-forced-n1268294

Belarus faces international fury after using fighter jet to land airliner, seize journalist

It's more than weird, this is a dictator using military force to hijack a foreign aircraft and apprehend a political dissident.

Lukashenko needs to be removed from power.

@vivify said
It's more than weird, this is a dictator using military force to hijack a foreign aircraft and apprehend a political dissident.

Lukashenko needs to be removed from power.

@shavixmir said
Yeah... regime change has such a grand history of working out well...

@vivify - quoted
when pilots were told to land in Minsk because of “a potential security threat on board," per a Ryanair statement.
----------------------------------------------------

😆 😆 oh yea, a real security threat... to Lukashenko, the bum. Dictators SUCK.

@vivify said
It's more than weird, this is a dictator using military force to hijack a foreign aircraft and apprehend a political dissident.

Lukashenko needs to be removed from power.

@duchess64 said
"Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye;
and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."
--Matthew 7:5

Sanctimonious flag-waving Americans should examine the USA's record.

There's a theory that Russia hijacked the Malaysian airliner that disappeared a few years ago:

https://www.businessinsider.com/the-theory-that-russia-hijacked-malaysia-airlines-mh370-to-get-back-at-the-us-2015-3

If true, this could mean that Russia not only knew about Belarus' hijacking, but may have even advised on it. Here's one more article, on Russia's growing influence on Belarus:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/25/russias-defense-of-belarus-hijack-shows-its-growing-influence.html

The post that was quoted here has been removed

Mr Raab, pointed towards the possibility of Russian connivance or involvement.

The foreign secretary, who summoned Belarus’s ambassador to the Foreign Office for a dressing down, told the House of Commons it was “very difficult to believe that this kind of action could be taken without at least the acquiescence of the authorities in Moscow”.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/ryanair-hijack-belarus-raab-update-b1852922.html

On Monday night Belarusian state television aired a short video of Mr Protasevich in which he said he was healthy and that his treatment by authorities had been “maximally correct and according to law”. He also admitted to organising anti-regime protests in Minsk. The clip emerged just hours after experts told The Independent the dissident blogger would probably be “wheeled out to perform a confession”.