Lukashenko Pulls an Uncle Sam, Sends a MiG to Force Ryanair Airliner With a Dissident on Board to Land

If you're already being labeled an 'outpost of tyranny' and targeted for regime change, might as well force plane landings like the US

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 and was en route to Vilnius – the capital of Lithuania – was forced to land in Belarus to allow state intelligence and security services to detain a journalist who’s long been critical of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Bloomberg has identified the detained journalist is Raman Pratasevich, described as “the former editor-in-chief of the most popular Telegram news channel in Belarus” who was “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’s authorities.”

Neighboring Lithuania had earlier issued Pratasevich asylum after Belarusian authorities had put him on a “terror watch list” related to his journalistic activities, given the 26-year old blogger and activist helped spearhead last year’s anti-Lukashenko demonstrations which at times shut down large parts of central Minsk following the disputed August 2020 election which resulted in prolonging the autocrat’s rule to a sixth term (which will see him into three decades in power).

The journalist has been dubbed an “extremist” for his role in covering and participating in protests which officials also alleged there was a “foreign hand” behind which had covert NATO support. Pratasevich now faces a severe sentence – if he even goes to trial at all, with some supporters going so far as to suggest a possible death penalty case.

Astoundingly, Belarus’ military had scrambled MiG fighter jets in order to divert the plane to Minsk. Bloomberg continues, “The plane, which was flying over Belarus en route to Lithuania, was escorted to Minsk by a MiG-29 fighter jet after a bomb threat, Belarusian state news agency Belta reported, citing the Minsk airport’s press service.”

The bomb threat, however, is being widely perceived as but a ruse which ensured the plane would be on Belarusian soil in order to facilitate the controversial detention.

Germany’s Deutsche Welle details:

An airport spokesperson told the agency that although authorities did not find any explosive devices on the plane, it was unclear when it would be allowed to take off again.

The opposition Telegram channel Nexta also reported that the plane was searched and that authorities detained the outlet’s former editor, Roman Protasevich.

“The plane was checked, no bomb was found and all passengers were sent for another security search,” said Nexta. “Among them was… Nexta journalist Roman Protasevich. He was detained.”

The episode is quickly gaining international attention and raising alarm in NATO and the European Union, with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda issuing a statement on Twitter condemning the “unprecedented” and “abhorrent” action of Lukashenko’s government.

President Nauseda also said in a written statement released to international press agencies that: “I call on NATO and EU allies to immediately react to the threat posed to international civil aviation by the Belarus regime.” He added, “The international community must take immediate steps that this does not repeat.”

Also interesting will be the added pressure on both Belarus and Lukashenko-ally Putin over the brazen intervention in a foreign airline’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, Rossiya-1 television reported.

Putin has been widely seen in the West as enabling Lukashenko’s dictatorial rule, with Russian officials also seeing recent protests in the former Soviet satellite state as West-backed ‘color revolution’ activity fueled by external powers designed to expand NATO influence by seeking overthrow of Russia-friendly governments.

Source: Zero Hedge 

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13 Comments
  1. yuri says

    nausea and blinky weak/irrelevant begging for CIA asset to be released to LGBT ghetto in Portland

    1. Mr Reynard says

      & I hope that Luka will give the treatment patented by CIA , copied from Gestapo.. Waterboarding treatment & then crush his balls so that he doesn’t anymore procreate scums like him?

  2. Andra says

    Tit for tat! How do you like it so far…EU, NATO, CIA??
    Go Lukashenko!

    1. Mr Reynard says

      Like that guy Lukashenko, only one of a few, who has tungsten balls !

  3. ken says

    When the US regime gets pissed, they just shoot’em down…. Iran Air Flight 655 comes to mind. And what about the Russians the US regime kidnaps in various countries and bring to the US for ‘trial’? How about the Chinese woman arrested in Red Canada at the regimes behest.

    And speaking of unfair trials we have Assange,,, incarcerated (forever) for showing the crimes of US government in Iraq and elsewhere. Rapidly entering the memory hole.

    The United States stands with the people of Belarus.”

    Really? Hell,,, The US regime doesn’t stand with its own people.

    Half of the country is considered terrorists because of their skin color and the fact they voted for Trump. Regime hoods are presently searching the nation for those that actually protested election fraud calling it an insurrection. The only insurrection was the election itself.

    The US government hates them so much they have a name for them… the Deplorables. Government indoctrination centers (aka ‘schools’) are officially teaching children to despise the Deplorables.

    So…..

    Be afraid,,, be very afraid, any time the US regime claims its on your peoples side as your country will likely turn into a hell hole.

  4. tobi999 says

    why are they crying…the EU forced an Bolivian presidental air-plane to land… just to see if Snowden was on board….still rises question even if….the plane is Bolivian territory…??? US-EU-Zionists are arrgoant scum!!! The whole world should isloate them and their fake economy scam system….

  5. Ronnie says

    What is good enough for the Yankee Gander is good enough for the Belarus goose.

    They we’re trying to assassinate him and his family for gods sake. What does America’s crazy pills expect him to do.

    That Red Line is drawn in Red Blood. It has now been officially crossed. They will start “kicking teeth in,” when the time comes.
    The first casualties of WW3 will not be in the trenches.
    What ever happened to the grownups in the room.👀

  6. Voz 0db says

    Yep… the level of it stinks!

  7. Raptar Driver says

    Luka Is one of the last free leaders of the world!
    His time is short so he might as well take a few down with him.

    1. ken says

      Yes,,, the ‘dictator’ didn’t lock down his country like all those cool free democracies. The ‘dictator’ hasn’t forced the mask or other stupid mandates like all those cool free democracies.

  8. TB says

    When the USA did the same thing, these European leaders are quiet as a church mouse. Anybody else, other than the US European ball carriers and Israel of course, all European hell breaks loose.

  9. Eddy says

    Why, does any of this come as a surprise to anyone ???? If it’s O.K. for the U.S. to do such things, and the European Union COMPLIES with the demands made by the U.S. why does it come as a surprise when other nations take the lead from the U.S. and do exactly the same thing ??? The U.S. has well and truly torn up the book of diplomacy and proper behaviour, returning us to the laws of the jungle, it should not come as a surprise, that other nations follow their example. Watch and listen to the howls of outrage from the U.S. and the Western sycophant nations who allowed this behaviour from the U.S. in the first place. Apparently it’s O.K. ONLY for the U.S. to behave in this manner, but no one else. Says WHO ????

  10. jimbogoofball says

    So nice to see this event happen. Now hopefully the POS that they grabbed from the plane is now forever locked up in a small cold cell 23.5 hours per day and fed dry bread and skank water until it dies. This bastard needs to be beaten to a pulp then thrown in the cell and left there. Publish it as a warning to others who may be inclined to be another gweedo. This MF deserves the most horrific treatment available. Thank God Belarus had the balls to stand up and grab this prik before he can arrange more problems for the country. Too bad Maduro would not follow suit and arrest gweedo.

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