US prosecutors have charged four Belarus officials with airline piracy over the diversion of a Ryanair flight last year that caused the arrest of a dissident journalist, reports Bloomberg.
Ryanair 4978 was destined for Vilnius, Lithuania on May 23 but was diverted to Minsk, the Belarusian capital.
Belarusian authorities claimed the diversion was due to a bomb threat.
Belarus was seeking to detain an exiled dissident journalist whom the Belarusian government had accused of fomenting mass unrest.
Though us authorities acknowledge the incident happened outside their jurisdiction, the presence of four Americans onboard the plane made the diversion a violation of a US law prohibiting aircraft piracy.
The law carries a minimum 20-year prison sentence.
The indictment declared the grounding of the flight was directed by four officials in Belarus's security services and air navigation authorities.
The US, the UK, and the EU have imposed sanctions on Belarus and several of its companies and business leaders.
President Alexander Lukashenko faced increasing US and EU pressure over his brutal crackdown on widespread protests following disputed presidential elections in 2020.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to capitalize on the crisis by pressing Mr Lukashenko to accelerate economic and political integration between Russia and Belarus.
The dissident, Roman Protasevich, and his girlfriend have been held under house arrest since they were removed from the flight.
Protasevich could face as long as 15 years in prison on the charges he faces in Belarus.
SeaNews Turkey
Ryanair 4978 was destined for Vilnius, Lithuania on May 23 but was diverted to Minsk, the Belarusian capital.
Belarusian authorities claimed the diversion was due to a bomb threat.
Belarus was seeking to detain an exiled dissident journalist whom the Belarusian government had accused of fomenting mass unrest.
Though us authorities acknowledge the incident happened outside their jurisdiction, the presence of four Americans onboard the plane made the diversion a violation of a US law prohibiting aircraft piracy.
The law carries a minimum 20-year prison sentence.
The indictment declared the grounding of the flight was directed by four officials in Belarus's security services and air navigation authorities.
The US, the UK, and the EU have imposed sanctions on Belarus and several of its companies and business leaders.
President Alexander Lukashenko faced increasing US and EU pressure over his brutal crackdown on widespread protests following disputed presidential elections in 2020.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to capitalize on the crisis by pressing Mr Lukashenko to accelerate economic and political integration between Russia and Belarus.
The dissident, Roman Protasevich, and his girlfriend have been held under house arrest since they were removed from the flight.
Protasevich could face as long as 15 years in prison on the charges he faces in Belarus.
SeaNews Turkey