From Belarus, a threat to media freedom

On Sunday, Belarus’s government, under its authoritarian leader, Aleksandr G Lukashenko, in an audacious move, warned an airline passing through its skies that it faced a bomb threat. It then sent a military jet to get the plane to land in Minsk. No bomb was found, and it turned out that the objective was to arrest a passenger, a dissident journalist, Roman Protasevich, who was taken into custody.

Across the world, illiberal regimes have found new ways to exert pressure on the media. But Belarus’s action, supported by Russia, is outrageous. Mr Protasevich, an editor of a Telegram channel, one of the few platforms where criticism of the regime can still be articulated, now stares at the possibility of 12 years in prison. The arrest violates the letter and spirit of the universal declaration of human rights; the forced landing, is, a violation of global frameworks on civil aviation; and European leaders and the United States have condemned the move, terming it “piracy”, “an act of terrorism” and “state hijack”.

To India, this may appear like a distant development, but as a democracy, committed to the rule of law and press freedom, India must speak up against Belarus’s action. The international community, the aviation industry, and human rights organisations must ensure that Mr Lukashenko is not allowed to set a precedent or get away with this assault on global media freedom.