Georgia says forced detention of Belarusian journalist Protasevich is ‘completely unacceptable’
Roman Protasevich, seen here in 2017, was arrested after his plane was forced to land in Minsk over an alleged bomb threat. Photo:EPA.
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The Georgian Foreign Ministry has responded to the recent detention of 26-year-old Belarussian activist, journalist and blogger Roman Protasevich by the Belarusian government at a Minsk airport late yesterday, stating that the ‘forcible detention is completely unacceptable.’
Belarus forced the plane, which was flying from Athens to Lithuania, to land in Minsk claiming there was a bomb threat to the aircraft.
We welcome the safe landing of the @Ryanair flight to its original destination - Vilnius, ???????? & are happy for the people onboard. All the passengers must enjoy the freedom of safe travel. Their forced detention is completely unacceptable.
— MFA of Georgia (@MFAgovge) May 23, 2021
After the plane landed, Belarus law enforcers arrested Protasevich who was aboard the Ryanair plane.
Witnesses said that Protasevich was scared and told other passengers that he would face the death penalty in Belarus.
Raman Pratasevich is a Belarusian journalist and @belamova editor. He actively covered the events of the 2020 election campaign and the subsequent protests. Belarusian security forces started several criminal cases against him, the KGB put him on the terrorist list. pic.twitter.com/merNVeHegV
— Franak Viačorka (@franakviacorka) May 23, 2021
EU leaders have condemned the incident.
They are due to discuss their response to what the union's executive has called a ‘hijacking,’ BBC reported.
The US state department has stated it was a ‘shocking act.’