European countries have imposed fresh sanctions on Belarus after Alexander Lukashenko's regime forced a Ryanair passenger flight to land so that it could arrest a leading dissident onboard. Belarusian authorities immediately took Roman Pratasevich, the founder and ex-editor-in-chief of the Telegram channel NEXTA, into custody. European Union leaders called the military interception of a Ryanair passenger plane an "attack on democracy" and an "international scandal."
Minsk claimed that security forces were trying to prevent a real bomb threat and acted to protect the passengers. A senior official from the Belarusian Ministry of Transport and Communication declared that the hoax bomb threat had been sent by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group ruling the Gaza Strip. Naturally, there was no bomb on board, but several people from the Athens-Vilnius flight were missing, including Roman Protasevich. Police took Mr. Protasevich away right after 126 passengers disembarked. Thus, it is no surprise that European leaders have dismissed Belarus' explanations.
Germany described Belarus’ actions as an unacceptable violation of international agreements. The EU demanded the immediate release of Pratasevich and his girlfriend. German Chancellor Angela Merkel recalled that Belarusian officials and Lukashenko personally are already on the EU blacklist. She added that this list will be expanded as the EU will adopt additional sanctions on individuals and entities. Sanctions against Belarus are considered by some politicians to be sanctions against Russia. It is not a secret that Lukashenko and Putin work closely with each other. "I'll be careful what I say at this point, because as he says it's very difficult to believe that this kind of action could be taken without at least the acquiescence of the authorities in Moscow, but as I say it is unclear as yet," British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said. The Belarusian opposition calls on the EU to impose tough sanctions against key Belarusian exporters, including Belneftekhim and Belaruskali.