DISINFO: Germany lands plane after bomb alert like Belarus did; why no sanctions on Ukraine?

This is a manipulative message on the Ryanair flight 4978 incident. It is aimed at justifying the actions of unrecognised Belarusian leader Alyanksandr Lukashenka, who on 23 May 2021 ordered to scramble a fighter jet to divert and force the landing in Minsk of a civilian plane with an opposition journalist on board, under the pretext of a bomb threat. The bomb alert was false, and the whole operation was staged to arrest Raman Pratasevich, who was later accused of terrorism, and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega; both now held in Belarus.

As for Flight FR1901 en route from the Republic of Ireland to Poland, German air control informed the crew about a potential security threat on board on 30 May 2021. The nearest airport was Berlin, so the pilot diverted there without pressure from military aircraft or any other pressure. Nothing was found during the security checks, and the passengers freely travelled on to Poland on a spare plane. Unlike the Germany case, the forceful landing in Belarus was a pre-planned security operation with the use of combat aircraft, staged by special services to seize an opposition-minded person. This operation is widely regarded as a hijacking. Unlike Belarus, Germany is a democracy where the opposition is not persecuted for political reasons.

Raman Pratasevich is a co-founder of the NEXTA telegram channel. It played a major role in last year’s protests against the falsified results of the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus. NEXTA really coordinated protest activities, but it did not call for spilling blood. Nonetheless, Belarus’ secret service (KGB) later placed Pratasevich and some of his colleagues on the list of terrorists for coordinating these protests.

Ukraine banned air traffic with Belarus in response to the hijacking. Kyiv joined EU member states in imposing flight restrictions. The EU also condemned the Belarusian action against the civilian plane and the detention of Pratasevich. In a declaration on behalf of the EU on the forced diversion of Ryanair flight FR4978 to Minsk on 23 May 2021, the High Representative called for the immediate release of Mr Pratasevich. The European Council issued a statement, in which the EU leaders called for targeted individual and economic sanctions as well as to ban overflight of EU airspace by Belarusian airlines and prevent access to EU airports of flights operated by these.

See more disinformation cases about Raman Pratasevich.