EU summons Belarussian envoy over forced plane landing

BRUSSELS

The EU summoned the Belarussian ambassador to the bloc on Monday to condemn the forced diversion of a Ryanair flight to Minsk, as well as the detention of journalist Raman Protasevich.

Upon the request of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the head of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Stefano Sannino summoned Belarus's envoy Aleksandr Mikhnevich, the EEAS said in a press release.

Sannino explained to Mikhnevich the bloc's position on the "outrageous action" of Belarusian authorities which the EU considers "another blatant attempt to silence all opposition voices in the country," the statement said.

Reiterating earlier demands of top EU officials on the matter, he urged the immediate release of Protasevich, who had been on board the Ryanair flight and was arrested after it landed in Minsk.

EU leaders will discuss the incident in a summit that started on Monday evening.

The heads of states and governments will assess the bloc's response, which may involve sanctions against those responsible for the incident, according to the EEAS' statement.

On Sunday, citing a "bomb threat," a Belarusian MIG-29 fighter jet forced a Ryanair plane passing through Belarus' airspace to land, and then detained passenger Protasevich, a journalist wanted for his involvement in "terrorist incidents."

Protasevich is the founder of the social media news channel NEXTA, which played a major role in protests last summer demanding the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko after the Aug. 9 elections.

The results of the presidential poll were widely contested by the Belarusian opposition and the majority of the international community, including the US and European governments.

The EU did not recognize the results and also condemned the violence against protesters.

Since October, the bloc has imposed sanctions against 88 individuals, including Lukashenko and seven entities.