Ryanair flight FR4978
US justice files charges against Belarusian officials over forced landing
The Ryanair plane at the airport in the Belarusian capital Minsk on May 23, 2021.
© Onliner.by / AFP
Eight months after the forced landing of a Ryanair plane with blogger Roman Protasevich on board in Minsk, Belarusian officials have been charged in the United States.
US justice on Thursday accused four Belarusian officials of air piracy over the forced landing of Ryanair’s FR 4978 plane in Minsk. Two top officials from the state aviation security agency and two state security officials are said to have been guilty of conspiring to air piracy to arrest government critic Roman Protassevich on board, US Attorney Damian Williams said in Manhattan.
On May 23, 2021, the authorities in authoritarian Belarus forced a Ryanair plane on its way from Athens to Vilnius to stopover in Minsk under the pretext of a bomb threat and a fighter jet. The opposition figure, who lives in exile in Poland and Lithuania, and his Russian-born girlfriend Sofia Sapega were arrested there.
Prosecutor Williams emphasized that four US citizens were also on board the machine. He complained about a “violation of international rules and American criminal law, but also the endangerment of four Americans and other innocent passengers”.
In their joint statement, prosecutors and the FBI accused the four Belarusian officials of plotting this “false bomb threat plan.” The four suspects, who are at large in Belarus, face life imprisonment if brought to trial in the US.
The planes of Belavia and Co
7 images
Deputy Director Michael Driscoll stated, “The FBI and (its) foreign partners will continue to hold accountable those whose actions directly threaten the lives of our nationals and endanger the stability of our national security.”
Driscoll stressed, “What happened here is not only a reckless violation of US law, it is also extremely dangerous to the safety of everyone flying on an airplane.” He further explained: “The next pilot who receives a distress call from a tower could doubt the authenticity of the distress call – and thereby endanger life.”
The procedure had triggered sharp international criticism of Belarus. The EU members and other western states like the USA reacted with sanctions against Belarus.