she's going to shy, he joins me from vilnius. welcome to d. w. news a. mr. ciocca. do you know any more about the whereabouts of roman put the savage, and are you worried about his safety? of course i'm worried. he's in the hands of the most cruel regime in europe. we don't know where he is physically right now. he might be in the prison of cage and be he might be interrogated right now. usually after detention, they are taken to the interrogation center. it could take hours or even base. we hope that he's safe and we will be demanding inclination experts and diplomats to visit him in jail to make sure that he is a life and health you personally know roman approach, savage, where you stand by the great length authorities in men's went to to arrest him yes, i know one that was in touch with him just before he he came to the airport and he actually found out that someone was following him in the athens airport. and after a few hours, we knew that the airplane was forcibly landed in name, and it was shocking to me. i used to work with him for many years. he was a journ

the ryanair flight with about 170 people on board left athens this morning bound for vilnius.airspace, it suddenly headed east. according to ryanair, the crew were warned of a potential security threat and ordered to land at minsk. for good measure, a belarusian warplane armed to the teeth was dispatched to escort the aircraft in. but no bombs were found on board. instead, this man was taken off the plane and arrested. roman protasevich is a well—known belarusian opposition journalist and is wanted by the authorities for organising protests last year. according to the belarus state news agency, the operation was ordered personally by the country's authoritarian president alexander lukashenko, who has faced growing opposition since disputed elections last year. belarus's exiled opposition leader said mr protasevich's life was in danger. translation: today, - lukashenko personally caused an international scandal, using military aircraft against civilians in belarus and european countries to arrest a single person — no—one else is safe. anyone can be in roman protasevich's place.

there isn't opposition, advisor front on the or chocolate in vilnius. thank you very much. thank you. the return to god and our clean up and rebuilding how peroration has begun to fight a sci fi brought an end to fraley and strikes as well as private home health, education, water and energy facilities have been damaged. in this area, agencies say the enclaves population has been left terrifies and traumatized. almost $250.00 people were killed during 11 days fighting on both sides and hundreds more injured. achieving peace in the region seems as distant a prospect right now as it's ever been. come facebook be used as a tool for piece building. it might seem like a utopian idea, but didn't hold up german, palestinian john hours mom. she co found that the p factory, an online project connecting people on different sides of political conflicts. this violence, destruction and fear is not what most people in the middle east want you know, on monday, certain if that the online movement she co founded promotes piece in the region that might sound like a big undertaking. but osman

security the lithuanian security police in german occupied vilnius and he'd been a desk murderer. he had ordered the execution of probably hundreds of jews. as the war was ending he fled westward ended up in western germany at and actually came under investigation by the us army when it received the allegation that as the chief of the lithuanian security police. he might have been involved in shooting some jews. but nothing was really known especially in the west about the lithuanian security police what its duties were. so there was no way to contradict lily. that's when he claimed that he had nothing to do with jews. his job had been to investigate communists. and that claim got the interest of the cia which employed him as a low level informant for a couple of years in germany. then in 1955 he'd managed to immigrate to the united states and he settled in norwood, massachusetts. in around 1982 osi came across the information that the lake has had been the chief of the lithuanian security police in vilnius. and it tried to investigate him but still very little was known about wha

there isn't opposition, advisor front on the or chocolate in vilnius. thank you very much. thank you. the time to gather our clean up and rebuilding opperation has begun off the fight. as sci fi brought an end to railey and strikes, as well as private home health, education, water and energy facilities have been damaged. in that area, agencies say the enclaves population has been left terrifies and traumatized. almost $250.00 people were killed during 11th based pricing on both sides and hundreds more injured. achieving peace in the region seems as distant a prospect right now. as it's ever been bob come, facebook be used as a tool for piece building. it might seem like a utopian idea, but didn't hold up german palestinian john hours, man. she co found that the piece factory, an online project connecting people on different sides of political conflicts. this violence, destruction, and fear is not what most people in the middle east want. you know, osman is certain that the online movement she co founded promote peace in the region that might sound like a big undertaking. bu

in the normally 3 hour flight from athens to vilnius had almost reached its destination. when bella roosting authorities diverted the plane, citing a bomb threat and escorted it with a military plan to the airport in minsk, the authorities never found any explosive, but they arrested a passenger roman protest, everidge above, lucien activist and blogger living an exile from president alexander lucas. shank has authoritarian governments, passengers said they saw bella, lucy and police confiscating the activists passports. you know, it's cruel something i'm civilized. scary. government functions about doing that. it can pretend there is a moment to stop here plain traits with the true romance below lucy and have been protesting against president lucas shameka. the rage was sparked in august when he was 6 term in office in a presidential vote. the opposition said was rigged. the government crackdown and arrested thousands. i then protest yet which already lived in poland. he is a co founder of nita, a channel on the telegram messaging app, which was used to help organize the

he joins me loud now from vilnius. good to have you on the program. strong international condemnation of today's event is still pouring in. what do you make of what happened? so basically this morning, i was in touch with mom, he's a good friend of mine and we work together for many, many years. and he shared that concerns that someone is following him in athens airport one week ago we were together in athens, atlanta channels can i? we were meeting president and officials of grace and he was covering that to visit . and so we, we went over the flight last sunday and the amount of the fight this sunday. and we found out for 5 hours to go that he did not lent and villainous that he landed in minsk. we started to explore what was happening, why he is not in the villages. and suddenly we realized that location, car center fighter jet and forcibly landed there. the ryan they are aircraft means where all passengers got searched and that man got detained with his girlfriend. it's insane. a said said it's crazy and the way le

on sunday, the ryan air flight he was on had almost reached vilnius when it was forced to make a new turn and head with military escort seen here to men's passengers described in our as long ordeal on the ground that started off with better ruthie and police taking protests of it into custody. they just came and 1st of all, they took the guy of the journalists out from the lane and then they started just a marking the passenger european and us diplomats quickly condemned the arrest as well as the diversion of the plane. you commission president or cellphone the lion tweeted the outrageous and illegal behavior of the regime and bella risk will have consequences. she continued those responsible for the ryan air hijacking must be sanctioned. that puts off of it just nice colleagues have also called for sanctions was once the international pressure should be increased, the protests will not help. the people cannot fight guns with don't you know, we should be economic pressure. boy, the regime and european politicians to finally ask them what would be effective in their orders. but yet eu

from a conventional car joins me now from vilnius. he's an advisor to deliver is in a position later set on a chicken of sky air. so thanks for joining us. on t w, we just heard a desperate play there from robin protective, which is mother to the international community will be a you and us sanctions save his life. i hope so. i hope so. only a strong, comprehensive package of support and sanctions towards the regime will help to solve this to the variation. it's very important this issue to be discussed at the level at the 4 in reference counsel at the for the 1st committee european parliament, but also on the level of national parliaments. we will also ask in g 7 countries to raise the issue. now president alexander lucas shank will address parliament later . can we expect him to address the pretense of educate? yes, yes. perhaps we actually don't know for sure. but we hope over the situation of crisis in general or a month for the personal case will be raised on the highest level. but the, regarding location speech to date can chang

the ryanair flight with about 170 people on board left athens this morning bound for vilnius.just before the aircraft entered lithuanian airspace, it suddenly headed east. according to ryanair, the crew were warned of a potential security threat and ordered to land at minsk. for good measure, a belarusian warplane armed to the teeth was dispatched to escort the aircraft in. but no bombs were found on board. instead, this man was taken off the plane and arrested. roman protasevich is a well—known belarusian opposition journalist and is wanted by the authorities for organising protests last year. according to the belarus state news agency, the operation was ordered personally by the country's authoritarian president alexander lukashenko, who has faced growing opposition since disputed elections last year. belarus's exiled opposition leader said mr protasevich�*s life was in danger. translation: today, - lukashenko personally caused an international scandal, using military aircraft against civilians in belarus and european countries to arrest a single person. no—one else is safe.

i live in lithuania, vilnius on may 23rd 2021. i flew on the same plane with rum on protests, of which i am the editor of telegram channel black book, which publishes private information about internal affairs officers. so i'm joined now by christine near the executive director of reporters without borders in germany. so welcome to the program. we had just heard that what was likely a confession recorded under duress by the woman who was travelling with rum on protests. of ich, we've also seen a similar video of mister protest of himself. what do you make of these alleged confessions? i mean, for us, it is really an you escalation of the repression against independent journalism and journalists in batteries and in batteries in the last year since since the since the elections in august, at least 400 journalists in the meantime have been imprisoned for a time and so this is a clear tech press freedom, and that's why a report is about boarded yesterday, filed a complaint against alexander lucas shanker himself under the lithuanian j

brian as flight f. 4978, arriving at vilnius apple in lithuania. after being diverted and held for hours in the better we're seeing capital minutes. the normally 3 hour flight from athens to vilnius had almost reached his destination. when better a c and o thora tease diverted the playing, they cited a bomb threat and escorted it with a military playing to the apple in minsk. feel socrates didn't find any explosives, but they did arrest a passenger rum on prophecy, which a better or see an activist on blogger living in exile? passengers said they saw better as the police confiscating the activists passport. it's cru something uncivilized. scary government functions about doing that. they can pretend there is a moment to stop here playing for sure. it was the true for salary. have been protesting against all sorry, terry and vida, alexander lucas shanker. the outrage was spark last august when he won a 6 turnovers in the presidential vote, the opposition said was rigged. the government cracked down under arrested thousands by then proceed, which alr

the ryanair flight left athens for the lithuanian capital vilnius at 8.30 yesterday morning.ore it reached vilnius it was ordered to divert to the belarussian capital minsk by belarus air traffic control — a fighterjet was sent to escort it down. after the plane landed, roman protasevich and his girlfriend were taken away by belarussian security services. after a lengthy wait — the flight leftjust before 7pm uk time, and landed in vilnius at 7.25 — more than seven hours late. the uk government has ordered planes to avoid belarus airspace and has suspended flights from the national airline. it looks tonight as if the eu will follow suit. lithuania has advised its citizens to get out of belarus. here's our europe correspondentjean mckenzie. armed police greet the arrivals on board the plane belarus is accused of hijacking. all to capture this young man, roman protasevich, a journalist and political refugee. he fled belarus two years ago, only to be forced back home yesterday under the most extraordinary circumstances by a regime he told his fellow passengers would execute him.

. —— the lithuanian capital vilnius. —— the exiled opposition leader.his was special services operation, just _ at all? we are sure this was special services operation, just to - at all? we are sure this was special services operation, just to jailed i services operation, just to jailed roman. tote services operation, 'ust to 'ailed roman. ~ ., ., roman. we were hearing there from michael 0'leary _ roman. we were hearing there from michael o'leary of— roman. we were hearing there from michael o'leary of ryanair, - roman. we were hearing there from michael o'leary of ryanair, who i roman. we were hearing there from| michael o'leary of ryanair, who runs michael o�*leary of ryanair, who runs the site that was diverted, saying he believes that special agents were on the flight. would you believe that to be true? we on the flight. would you believe that to be true?— on the flight. would you believe that to be true? we think that this is true because _ that to be true? we think that this is true because roman _ that to be true? we think that this is true beca

the exiled opposition leader, svetla na tikhanovskaya, told supporters in vilnius that belarus will not give up. we'll be speaking live to one of her senior advisers — and friend of detained opposition journalist roman protasevich. also coming up... vietnam is facing a surge of coronavirus cases — blamed on a new variant that combines characteristics of those found in india and the uk. sri lanka is facing one of the worst ecological crises in its history, following a fire on board a container ship. and... chelsea score first in the all—english champions league final against manchester city. we'll have the latest from porto as the second half gets under way. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. there've been dozens of demonstrations around the world to show solidarity with the people of belarus. in poland, hundreds of demonstrators have ta ken to streets of the capital, warsaw. small gatherings have also been held in other european countries, the us and australia. many protesters have been calling for the release of the belarusian journalist, roman protasev

immediately release all the passengers, including roman protasevich, and allow them to travel to vilniusuropean council tomorrow in brussels. meanwhile, the belarusian opposition leader says it's evidence international law is being broken. translation: the fact that today, on the instructions _ of the military dictator, alexander lukashenko, a ryanair civilian plane was landed in belarus, using the belarussian air force, is more evidence that international law is being violated in belarus. the health and lives of foreigners and belarussian citizens are at risk. british foreign secretary dominic raab has reacted to the news saying: a short time ago ryanair released a statement — they have apologised to passengers for the disruption and say they have notified the relevant national and european safety and security agencies and they apologise sincerely to all affected passengers for this regrettably delay "which was outside ryanair�*s control". a cable car has plunged to the ground near lake maggiore in northern italy, killing 13 people and seriously injuring others, including children. the

there isn't opposition, advisor front on the chocolate in vilnius. thank you very much. thank you. the time to gather our clean up and rebuilding opperation has begun off the fight. as sci fi brought an end to really ass trucks, as well as private homes, health, education, water and energy facilities have been damaged. in this area, agencies say the enclaves population has been left terrifies and traumatized. almost 250 people were killed during 11 based fighting on both sides and hundreds more injured. as heating piece in the region seems as distant a prospect right now. as it's ever been, bob come, facebook be used as a tool for piece building. it might seem like a utopian idea, but didn't hold up german, palestinian john housman. she co found that the p factory, an online project connecting people on different sides of political conflicts. this violent destruction and fear is not what most people in the middle east want. you know, osman is certain that the online movement she co founded promote peace in the region that might sound like a big undertaking. but osman knows a concre

and left after it touched down in midst the loose rejects the accusations as unfounded the crowded vilnius airport waiting for hours for a plane that finally arrived. we doubt roman, protested each on board the message from the regime in bella. ruth critics, on safe anyway, even in the year i am, we are roman protests of it. solidarity for the blogger and activist, who now faces up to 15 years in prison. for tons of each was living in exile. he is a co founder of nice to a channel on the telegram messaging app used to help organize protests against the bellow, ruthie, and government on sunday, the ryan air flies he was on, had almost reached bill nero's when it was supposed to make a huge hit with military escorts being here to means, passengers described in ordeal on the ground in means that started off, we believe taking printouts of which into custody. they just came and 1st of all they took that i think the guy of the journalists out from the plane. and then they started just marking the passenger european and us diplomats quickly condemned the arrest as well as the division of the pla

his girlfriend were taken into custody and better. ruth, when there ryan in flight from athens to vilnius, with forced to land there on sunday. this week the you imposed sanctions on ben, a roof over the incident. the 26 year old worked for a social media platform which helped mobilize anti government straight protests last year because of its parents calling on the international community to help saying it's clear this on is being mistreated by authorities. yes, no, we will see, nor would i know my son very well. certainly we and our friend and our relatives have clearly seen that there are a bruises on his face. this is being covered well with may comp premium with more, but i see that the nose bridge is apparently his nose is broken. you know, muslim knowing also and i can say with confidence that he will never admit his skills. because festival, if you haven't taken part in math disturbances, you've never organized them is all your world. please stand up and help. i urge you to because they will kill him. they will kill him. or online participation is not the only journalist who's bei

he was going to vilnius the capital of lithuania, where he's now based in exile. and so he had spotted somebody, apparently the opposition is saying this was pre plans by the secret services of, of belarus, the government of lithuania, demanding that the opposition figure romance progressive which be released. they have used words like abortions and unprecedented for what say was a clearly plan of action. but at the moment, all we know for sure the plane has carried on after a few hours of all of the passengers having to get off and supposedly be checked along with their baggage for some kind of security threat they've now traveled. but the opposition figure is certainly in detention now. so strong words, they're from this way. now. what about the rest of the international community was they have to say, well, not surprisingly, the exiled opposition leader of, of bella, roosts, atlanta, chicken of sky, us. she was one of the 1st to react cooling for new sanctions on her home country. but not only that, we heard very strong words from the likes of the french and ge

i live in lithuania, vilnius, on may 23rd 2021. i flew on the same plane with rum on because of which i am the editor of telegram channel black book, which publishes private information about internal affairs officers. so let's speak more about this now with tanya book. she now she's the europe and central asia associates director at human rights watch in moscow. thank you for joining us. we heard there what was likely a confession from sophia as a picket that was recorded under duress. and we've seen a similar video from roman for this year, which what do you make of these videos? first of all, all it is crystal clear is actually made on did us dog is without saying. and indeed if you look protest search his face, it's healthy and eat blasted with pancake makeup which reinforces the very way the concerns about protest. savage courses being tortured no the doubt in recent months. so and thousands of peaceful protest up to this indelibly, the arbitrarily detained and subjected to cruel and degrading treatment. the vicious with bitte

only 121 continued on from minsk to vilnius. lending credence to report that protest of which had been followed onto the plane by bella. ruth intelligence agents, the middle interception, looking less like an opportunistic impulse. a more like he planned and coordinated snatch operation, poll brennan, al jazeera room, unprotected which is reported to have said a death sentence is waiting for me here. as the plane descended into midst of a jealous as a former editor and co founder of next to tv, a channel host, you don't telegram, which played a central role in organizing and coordinating pro democracy protest. last year, the platform publishes video publish videos of state violence and lead details of right police identified in look a shame because crackdown of defend progressive which fled bellows for poland in 20 . 19. it faces extremism charges, including organizing mass riots and inciting, social hatred. natasha butler, his life was from paris and social reaction we had from you leaders arriving at the summit. as the leaders arriving for the summer that was shed you too, for latest

the plane was on its way from athens to vilnius when it was diverted to minsk because the belarus authoritiested to detain one of the passengers. the journalist roman protasevich is a well—known critic of the regime in belarus. his arrest was witnessed by other passengers. super scared. i looked at him directly into his eyes and it was very sad. tonight eu leaders are discussing a flight ban on the national airline of belarus along with other sanctions, as the uk added its voice. the scenario as reported is a shocking assault on civil aviation and an assault on international law. we'll have the latest on the growing international condemnation of belarus and the actions of president lukashenko. also tonight... max mosley, the former head of formula 1's governing body and campaignerfor tougher regulation of the press, has died at 81. in gaza, we meet one community grieving the loss of seven children and one young man in the recent clashes with israel. levelling up. what does it mean and how might it work? we visit hull to try to find out. and we speak to the 20—year—old english footballer who's

the flight eventually landed in vilnius after a 7 hour long detour. but practice david was not on board. the united states has called for his immediate release a journey finally coming to an end. ryan air flight f r 4978. arriving at vilnius airport in lithuania, after being diverted and helpful, ours and the bella, ruth and capital men. the normally 3 hour fled from athens to vilnius, had almost reached the destination and below roosting floor. it is diverted, the plane, citing a bomb threat and escorted with a military plane to the airport. in minsk, the authorities never found any explosives, but they arrested a passenger, rama protest everidge about lucy, an activist and blogger living an exile from president alexander lucas. shank has authoritarian governments. passengers said they saw bella, lucy and police confiscating the activists passports. you know, it's true something i'm civilized, scary government functions about to get always doing that. they can pretend there is a moment to stop here playing with the true romance, but i have been prote

the ryanairflight had been making its way between two european capitals, athens and vilnius, when it controljust before leaving belarus's airspace, escorted by a fully armed mig 29 fighter. the head of the airline believes there were four secret service agents on board. it's the first time it has happened to a european airline but this was a case of state—sponsored hijack, state—sponsored piracy but i can't say much because the eu authorities and nato are dealing with it at the moment. there is international outrage. here in europe talk is tough with promises of consequences. but the night eu leaders must decide what exactly the consequences should be for hijacking an eu flight. after hours in minsk, the plane was allowed to complete its trip without roman and his girlfriend. already it appears airlines have started to avoid belarussian airspace, deciding the detours are worth the delays. jeanis jean is in brussels for us. eu leaders talking later. what are the options open to them? what might be the result of that meeting? this options open to them? what might be the result of that

intense pressure for stone response flight track, as sites shared the ryan our flight from athens to vilnius change course. just 2 minutes from the lithuanian border. bella luce traffic control had flagged a supposed bama le to the aircraft, then scrambled a fight, a jess to make doubly sure. the plane came to minsk, the target of the extraordinary intervention was this man, roman protests, of which, an opposition journalist and blogger, who fled dollars after president lucas shanker. claim victory and last august disputed election. fellow passengers on the plane, say he react to the interception 1st with disbelief and then resignation. one minute it was like twain to negotiate but nothing to do, but i feel that i didn't find him on real, something like that. the incident will dominate the summits of european leaders gathering in brussels later on monday, nato will consider its response when it meets on tuesday. there are demands for yet more sanctions against lucas shanker and his closest officials, as well as coal, to suspend all transit from dollars in the you look, your shanker is sort o

it's now and the $125.00 passengers departed from athens and only $121.00. arrived in vilnius lending credence to report the protests of which had been followed onto the plane by bella, roost intelligence agents. the middle interception is looking less and less like an opportunistic act, a more like a planned and coordinated snatch operation. and the dilemma for the west is how to respond to that poll brennan al jazeera. now you are a secretary of state anthony blinkin is traveling to the middle east days into the israel palestine ceasefire. president joe biden has said his quiet and relentless diplomacy hope to end the conflict. but his administration is still facing growing criticism of support for israel. israeli attacks have killed 248 palestinians in gaza, while 13 people have been killed in israel as rockets were fired from gaza. and me bring can, has tweeted that he's traveling to jerusalem ramallah cairo, and mon adding that the united states has engaged an intensive diplomacy to bring an end to the hostilities and reduce tensions while there's also been significant arab diplo

it's down and at $125.00 passengers departed from athens, and only $121.00. arrived in vilnius lending credence to reports, the protests of which had been followed onto the plane by bella, roost intelligence agents. the middle interception is looking less and less like an opportunistic act, a more like a planned and coordinated snatch operation. and the dilemma for the west is how to respond to that whole brennan al jazeera. russia says the west reaction is shocking and accuses the west of hypocrisy. the foreign minister says bella says evidence which shows minsk, acted within international aviation law. latisha was still going 30. we are in favor of assessing the situation. not in a rush, not in a hurry on the bias of all available information reach well over the representative of the foreign ministry of ballard straits. the readiness of the bella, russian authorities to act in this matter transparently follow all international rules. and if necessary to ensure the reception of international expert, i think this is an absolutely reasonable approach. us miramar, defacto leader, also. s

the plane was flying from athens to vilnius and lithuania.ear response to the ryanair incident. we have had condemnation from many parts of europe and the u.s. already. the irish foreign minister saying this forced landing cannot be tolerated. we will get back to that story and a moment. europe has been reacting with outrage after belarus forced a ryanair flight to land in minsk so that journalist could be arrested. around that next. this is bloomberg. ♪♪ anna: welcome back to the european market open. 23 minutes into the trading session. aching modest gains across european equity markets. fairly flat at the overall level but modest gains in london despite early weakness in the mining sector. the u.s. and europe reacting with outrage after belarus forced a ryan airplane crossing its airspace to land. the flight from athens to vilnius was diverted under the escort of a fighter jet. for the arrest of a journalist. you leaders are set to meet for a two day summit and may impose further sanctions. we have already heard from poland that they will

the an opposition leader, svetlana teacher know sky and he's joining us from vilnius. now i understand that you spoke to roman for to say this just before he actually got on that plane. so what can you tell us about his whereabouts right now? and if he is safe, we don't know what's happening for the savage right now. he was the dent yesterday and usually after the detention k, j b start the interrogation of this aspect. so he might be in the cage and be present right now. and the believe some k b agents are talking to human and trying to get so much information as possible. i yesterday was flying from athens and we just spoke on chat, few hours before his departure, but his plan did not lengthen village the planet and mains. and as you, he was followed by a key to be from us and to the means. so it was very well plant operations on season, the aircraft in order to detain jordan. so mom and his girlfriend are in jail. we are, we are in touch with his parents. we are in touch with mom and dad and we are trying to find lawyer for him. you say this is a well planned operat

they were both arrested on sunday after the flight from athens to vilnius was diverted and forced to land and the bela routine capital minsk, the incident sparked international outrage. the e, you slapped sanctions on valerie and the u. s. is considering doing the same freedom of expression. ballard, scene leader alexander lucas shanker, lashed out in response to the order. nothing is predicted. you are l wishes from outside the country and from inside the country changed their methods of attack on the state of bristol. just have across many red lines and have abandoned common sense and human moral feature. that is not information warfare anymore. this is modern hybrid warfare. so we must do everything to prevent it becoming a real short stop or not it at a slow good extra luca shank denies the plane was diverted in order to arrest pressure. savage, claiming the move was a necessary response to a bomb threat. now the bad ever seen opposition, including leaders, atlanta, to kind of fed it preparing to stage new protest. and hoping international pressure will keep pressure, say which s

she said it is absolutely unacceptable to force around a flight from athens to vilnius, to london. minsk. she said all the passengers must be able to continue that trouble to bill miss immediately an a safety insured that seems to have happened apart from this opposition figure. she said, any violation of international air transport must bear the consequences. the prime minister of poland coded a reprehensible act of state terrorism. he said, i condemn in the strongest terms the detention of roman protests, of which by the original authorities, he's calling on the president of the european council, shall me show to raise the issue of immediate sanctions on better routes. when heads of government meet for a shed, you will get together on monday, just to remind people the situation in embarrass is a basically at a stalemate with the main opposition figures exiled with those protests that we saw last summer after the highly disputed election, which many people say was rig by lucas shanker protests which followed, dying down into the winter and with around 35000 people having been detained s

and athens, vilnius and minsk had got the message at the same time."s and vilnius have not backed up recieving any message. again no evidence of mr lukashenko's claims. and of course it's a remarkable coincidence that the warning that no—one else will confirm was issued for a plane carrying someone mr lukashenka dearly wanted in custody. lithuania's prime minister is unconvinced. it's so complicated for anyone to believe and rule of law, institutions and western democracy to believe in anything that he is saying. i think they will invent whatever they need to try and shelter their wrongdoings. the west only sees one explanation here — that the plane was diverted to in order to detain the journalist ramon pratasevich. his girlfriend was travelling with him —— she's sofia sapega, a 23 year old russian national — she was also detained. in a moment, we'll look at what we know has happened to them since their arrests — but we've now heard from the man who was sitting next to mr pratasevich on the plane when secret service agents arrived. an officer came up

the flight eventually landed in vilnius after a 7 hour long detour, but part to save, which was not on board. the united states has called for his immediate release. the 3 hour flight from greece to lithuania had almost reached its destination. when bella ru seen, authorities alerted it to a bomb scare and instructed it to land in minsk. state media says a bomb was reported on board, but fellow roosting authorities never found any explosives. instead, they arrested roman protests, of which an activists living in exile from president, alexander lucas shank, as authoritarian government. he was the personal enemy of lucas and he was collecting information from citizen journalists. he was posting videos and pictures from protest about torture in presence above the conditions in jails. and he was one of the most prominent figures begin at ball to the horrible violation of human rights. and they think what we saw today, it was their revenge. bela ruffians turned out in massive numbers last year to protest election results. after lucas shank, as opponent claimed that many votes were not count

they were both arrested on sunday after their flight from athens to vilnius was intercepted by a bela lucy and military jet and forced to land in midst the incident spark, international outrage fee, you slap sanctions on min check, and the u. s. is considering doing the same bell, russian leader, alexander lucas shinkel, lashed out in response. cut me progress. you order last. we predicts this is our ill wishes from outside the country. and from inside the country changed their methods of attack on the state. you bring to you, they have cross many red lines and have abandoned common sense and human morals. louis grandmother, that those are in for this is not information warfare anymore. if you believe this is modern hybrid warfare, why not? we must do everything to prevent it from becoming a real war. it at us love good at your shank denies. the plane was diverted in order to our respirator, savage, claiming the move was a necessary response to a bomb threat. now there belushi and opposition, including leadership planet. you turn the sky or say they're preparing to stage, you protest

the ryanair flight left athens for the lithuanian capital vilnius at 8.30 yesterday morning.st before it reached vilnius it was ordered to divert to the belarussian capital minsk by belarus air traffic control. a fighter jet was sent to escort it down. after the plane landed, roman protasevich and his girlfriend were taken away by belarussian security services. after a lengthy wait the flight left just before 7pm uk time, and landed in vilnius at 7.25, more than seven hours late. the uk government has ordered planes to avoid belarus airspace and has suspended flights from the national airline. lt looks tonight as if the eu will follow suit. lithuania has advised its citizens to get out of belarus. here's our europe correspondentjean mckenzie. armed police greet the arrivals on board the plane belarus is accused of hijacking. all to capture this young man, roman protasevich, a journalist and political refugee. he fled belarus two years ago, only to be forced back home yesterday under the most extraordinary circumstances by a regime he told his fellow passengers would execute h

a ryan air flight headed from athens, greece, a democracy to vilnius, lite anyeah, also a democracy butlarussian activist was removed from the flight and taken into custody by the government and as cnn's fred pleitgen reports for us now, now e awe officials are saying all european illness should stop flying over until if the airline now saying had a mom they will why the in appears to have been a employ to arrest activist ramon on was on the flight. >> he said nothing. he turned to people and said he was facing the death penalty. >> reporter: tonight a belarussian pro-government social media airing the first video of the reporter in detention. while he says on tape that he's allegedly doing fine and confessing to organizing riots. it's very possible he was forced to go on cam round duress, members of the opposition say and an adviser telling cnn earlier that he fears the victim will be tortured. >> you know that bell u.s. >> the social media freshman who was helped spark the racism anti-gosks. they have threatened to out of opposition leader luke sleepingo after he was accuse of rigging

the ryanairflight, with about 170 people on board, left athens bound for vilnius.st before the aircraft entered lithuanian airspace, it suddenly headed east. according to ryanair, the crew were warned of a potential security threat, and ordered to land at minsk. for good measure, a belarusian warplane, armed to the teeth, was dispatched to escort the aircraft in. but no bombs were found on board. instead, this man was taken off the plane and arrested. roman protasevich is a well—known belarusian opposition journalist, and is wanted by the authorities for organising protests last year. according to the belarus state news agency, the operation was ordered personally by the country's authoritarian president, alexander lukashenko, who has faced growing opposition since disputed elections last year. belarus�* exiled opposition leader said mr protasevich's life was in danger. translation: lukashenko personally caused an international scandal, - used military aircraft against civilians in belarus and european countries to arrest a single person. no—one else is safe. anyon