A prominent opponent of Belarus' authoritarian president was arrested Sunday after the airliner in which he was traveling was diverted to the country after a bomb threat, in what the opposition and Western officials denounced as a hijacking operation by the government.
Raman Pratasevich, who faces charges that could bring 15 years in prison, was aboard the Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece, to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius when it changed course to head for Minsk.
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The press service of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the president himself ordered that a MiG-29 fighter jet accompany the airliner after he was informed of the bomb threat.
Western countries expressed alarm. Belarus "showed again its contempt for international community and its citizens," US Ambassador Julie Fisher said, calling the event "dangerous and abhorrent." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted: "It is utterly unacceptable to force @Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius to land in Minsk."
