EU mulls response to Belarus diverting plane to nab reporter

Angry European Union leaders are set to consider a joint response Monday to Belarus' diversion of a plane traveling between EU member nations to arrest a prominent Belarusian opposition journalist

BRUSSELS -- Angry European Union leaders were set to consider a joint response Monday to Belarus' diversion of a plane traveling between EU member nations in order to arrest a prominent Belarusian opposition journalist. Raman Pratasevich, who ran a popular messaging app that played a key role in helping organize massive protests against Belarus' authoritarian president, was on board the Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania, when it was diverted to the Belarusian capital, Minsk while flying over Belarus. Belarusian flight controllers had warned the plane crew of an alleged bomb threat and ordered it to land in Minsk, and a Belarusian fighter jet was scrambled to escort the Ryanair airliner. Shortly after the landing, the 26-year-old Pratasevich and his Russian girlfriend were led out of the plane. The jet was eventually allowed to continue its flight and landed in Vilnius hours behind schedule. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Sunday called the incident a “state-sponsored terror act” and proposed banning Belarusian planes from European Union airports and “serious sanctions” against the Belarusian government.