Belarus Faces Western Outrage Over Airliner 'Hijacking' To Detain Journalist
udf.byRaman Pratasevich in a Minsk court in April 2017 on charges of participating in an unsanctioned protest. Photo: ReutersEuropean Union leaders, who are set to hold a summit on May 24, have warned of punitive steps against Belarus over the forced diversion and landing of a Ryanair plane to Minsk that was carrying a prominent opposition journalist on an internal EU flight.
Belarusian authorities scrambled a military jet to escort the civilian plane, which was en route to Vilnius from Athens on May 23, over what turned out to be a false bomb report.