The Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office opened a criminal case due to the forced landing in Minsk the aircraft of the Ryanair company at the request of Belarusian dispatchers, a pre-trial investigation began. This is reported by the BNS portal with reference to the head of the Communication Department of the Office, Elyan Martinonen.
According to her, Minsk, the actions of Minsk can be described as the seizure of the aircraft, and the investigation itself is conducted “on the fact of the hijacking of the aircraft and handling people prohibited by international law.” The case was openly in two articles of the Criminal Code.
It is noted that the Lithuanian police have already interviewed the first witnesses from the number of passengers and crew members. It intends to establish cooperation as part of an investigation with officials and specialized departments of the European Union countries.
On May 23, the airline of the Ryanair airline, following the route Athens – Vilnius, made an emergency landing in Minsk after reports of mining received from Minsk airport. To accompany the aircraft, the Fighter MiG-29 of the Air Force of Belarus was raised. Immediately after landing, Belarusian security forces detained on board the Creator and the Glavred Telegram channel NEXTA Roman Protasevich.
He is accused of creating extremist formation and calls to mass riots after the presidential election in August 2020. Protasevich noted a surveillance before departure from Athens Airport. In his homeland, he may be threatened to 15 years in prison. There were no explosive devices on board the aircraft.