On May 23, Belarus made headlines around the world for diverting a commercial flight. Ryanair’s Boeing 737-8AS, in transit over Belarus from Athens to Vilnius, had to make an emergency landing in Minsk under the pretext of a bomb planted on board, the alarm raised by Belarusian air traffic controllers. Flight tracker sites indicated the plane was about six miles from the Lithuanian border, north of the Belarusian city of Lida, when it was urged to make a sharp turn with the help of a MiG-29 fighter. The whole incident was concocted with the sole purpose of arresting Roman Protasevich, a 26-year-old Belarusian journalist. Residing in Poland since 2019, he received political asylum there in 2020; Protasevich’s previous work experience includes reporting for Euroradio, a Minsk-based media outlet funded by the United States, and for the press service of the controversial Ukrainian volunteer Azov Battalion, frequently accused of attracting extreme-right or Neo-Nazi fighters (Riafan.ru, May 24). Most importantly, however, in the eyes of the Belarusian authorities, has been Protasevich’s role in creating the Nexta Telegram channel, which routinely steered street rallies in Minsk following the disputed August 9 presidential elections. Until September 2020, Protasevich was that channel’s editor-in-chief. Minsk accuses Protasevich of actively participating in group actions that grossly violate public order and of inciting social discord (Reform.by, May 24). In February, Belarus sent a request to Poland to extradite Protasevich. For Minsk, even more, important than punishing Protasevich for these alleged crimes is the possibility of extracting information about the true extent and funding of Nexta and, above all, about Nexta’s possible supporters in the corridors of power in Minsk. According to Semion Uralov, the editor of Sonar-2050 (an online outlet devoted to Belarusian-Russian integration), the corresponding suspicion has long been entertained in Minsk (Facebook.com, May 23). Effectively hijacking a commercial flight was Belarusian law enforcement’s third major operation within a short time, the first being uncovering an alleged coup against President Alyaksandr Lukashenka (see EDM, April 19).
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Young women stand with posters reading 'I am, we are Roman Protasevich' in the arrival area as passengers disembark from a Ryanair passenger plane from Athens, Greece, that was intercepted and diverted to Minsk on the same day by Belarus authorities, after it landed at Vilnius International Airport, its initial destination, on May 23, 2021.
