A Warsaw court has arrested three Belarusians in absentia who were allegedly responsible for forcing a Ryanair plane to land in Minsk and detaining a Belarusian oppositionist on board. This paves the way for issuing international arrest warrants and an Interpol red notice for them, writes “Gazeta Wyborcza”. A flight controller from Minsk, who recorded the orders of his superiors and later fled the country, is cooperating with Polish services.
The action took place on May 23, 2021. Belarusians forced a Ryanair plane to land in Minsk under the pretext of a bomb threat flying from Athens to Vilnius. At the airport, they arrested the oppositionist Roman Pratasiewicz and his partner. Pratasiewicz is the co-founder of the Nexta portal, which showed the truth about, among other things, the rigged elections in Belarus.
23/05/2021, Minsk, Ryanair plane detained by Belarusian servicesONLINER.BY / AFP / East News
The Polish prosecutor's office is conducting an investigation. The most important witness is the controller
The Polish prosecutor's office has been investigating the plane hijacking for three years, as the plane belonged to a Polish subsidiary of Ryanair.
According to “Gazeta Wyborcza”, the most important material was provided by 42-year-old Oleg, an air traffic controller who escaped through Georgia and Turkey to Poland along with the recording he made on the day of the operation.
The recording – as “Wyborcza” writes – shows the instructions that the controller received from Belarusian officers and a record of communication with the plane's crew. The controller, who secretly recorded the whole situation, is now hiding in Poland under the care of the services.
A Polish court has arrested three Belarusians.
On September 4, the District Court in Warsaw arrested three Belarusians in absentia: former head of Belarusian air navigation Leonid Churo, shift chief at Belarusian air traffic control Yevgeny Tsyganov, and a high-ranking officer of the Belarusian KGB.
“The National Prosecutor's Office accuses them of an act of terror: taking control of a Ryanair plane by deceit (Article 166 of the Penal Code) and illegal deprivation of liberty of passengers and crew members (Article 189 of the Penal Code). This carries a penalty of 12 years in prison,” writes “GW”.
The court's consent to their arrest provides a basis for issuing international arrest warrants and an Interpol Red Notice for them.
“Gazeta Wyborcza”, PAP, tvn24.pl
Main image source: ONLINER.BY / AFP / East News