Exiled opposition figure arrested after flight diverted to Belarus citing bomb threat

Raman Pratasevich, a blogger and co-founder of an app that has proven to be a key information conduit for opponents of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, was arrested on Sunday after his flight was diverted to Belarus citing a bomb threat.

A founder of a messaging app channel that has been a key information conduit for opponents of Belarus' authoritarian president was arrested Sunday after an airliner in which he was traveling on was diverted to Belarus because of a bomb threat. The presidential press service said President Alexander Lukashenko personally ordered that a MiG-29 fighter jet accompany the Ryanair plane - traveling from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania - to the Minsk airport. The Belarusian Interior Ministry said Raman Pratasevich was arrested at the airport. Pratasevich is a co-founder of the Telegram messaging app's Nexta channel, which Belarus last year declared as extremist after it was used to help organize major protests against Lukashenko.