Belarus is isolated as other countries move to ban flights
Belarus’ isolation deepened on Tuesday as commercial planes avoided its airspace, the European Union worked up new sanctions, and a senior UN official said he was concerned for the welfare of an opposition journalist arrested in Minsk after his plane was diverted there, apparently on the orders of the country’s longtime strongman.
After his detention, Raman Pratasevich (pictured) was seen in a brief video clip shown on Belarusian state television late Monday, speaking rapidly to say that he was confessing to some of the charges authorities have levelled against him.
The spokesperson for the UN’S human rights office, Rupert Colville, said Pratasevich’s appearance was likely not voluntary and that he seemed to have bruising to his face, though it was difficult to tell from the footage.
The 26-year-old journalist and activist was arrested Sunday after Belarusian flight controllers told the crew of a Ryanair jetliner he was aboard that there was a bomb threat against the flight and ordered it to land. A Belarusian MIG29 fighter jet was scrambled to escort the plane in a brazen move by President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for over a quarter-century.
The diversion and arrest elicited widespread shock and fury, and EU leaders took unusually swift action in response at a summit Monday. They agreed to ban Belarusian airlines from using the airspace and airports of the 27-nation bloc, imposed sanctions on officials linked to Sunday’s flight diversion, and urged the International Civil Aviation Organization to start an investigation into the episode some described as state terrorism or piracy.
They demanded Pratasevich’s release and urged European carriers to avoid Belarus’ airspace. Polish carrier LOT and Baltic airlines have begun bypassing Belarus. Air France, KLM, Finnair, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines have all said they will also avoid flights over the country. The UK, which is no longer part of the EU, also recommended that carriers don’t fly over Belarus, and British Airways flights were avoiding the country. Belarus has defended its actions and its Transport Ministry said that it has invited representatives of the international aviation organization and US and EU authorities to investigate the flight’s diversion.
In a sign that tensions remained high, NATO Secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg described the Ryanair flight’s diversion as “dangerous and unacceptable” and welcomed the EU response. “This is a state hijacking and demonstrates how the regime in Minsk attacks basic democratic rights and cracks down on freedom of expression and independent media,” Stoltenberg said.