A Ryanair jet landed in Lithuania after the Belarusian military forced it earlier on Sunday to divert to Minsk, where authorities arrested a journalist who covered protests against President Alexander Lukashenko.
The Boeing Co. 737-800 carrying scores of passengers from Athens to Vilnius was diverted to the Belarusian capital under the escort of a Mig-29 fighter jet after its crew was notified by authorities in Minsk of a “potential security threat on board,” a Ryanair spokeswoman said.
Authorities boarded the plane and arrested Raman Pratasevich, the former editor-in-chief of one the most popular Telegram news channels in Belarus. Pratasevich wasn’t on the plane when it took off again, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in a recorded statement.
