The strongman leader of Belarus sent a fighter jet to intercept a European airliner and ordered the aircraft to land in the capital city of Minsk, following reports that a bomb was planted aboard the plane, Agence France-Presse reported Monday.
President Alexander Lukashenko ordered a Ryanair plane carrying Roman Protasevich, the former editor and founder of an opposition blog and social media channel, to land Sunday and detained him upon arrival, officials and rights activists said.
The passenger plane, which had taken off in Athens and was headed to Lithuania, was just leaving Belarusian airspace when a Soviet-era MiG-29 warplane was scrambled to intercept the aircraft after the bomb was reported.
No bomb was found on the plane.
Protasevich's detention provoked an outrage from European leaders and the European Union.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis demanded all passengers to be released immediately.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland condemned it as "hijacking" and "an act of state terrorism."
Lithuania's president Gitanas Nauseda said the Belarusian regime is "behind the abhorrent action" and called on NATO and the European Union to respond.
Julie Fisher, U.S. envoy to Belarus, said "faking a bomb threat" and forcing the plane to land to arrest Protasevich was "dangerous and abhorrent."
Several European leaders called for talks on Monday to propose new sanctions against Belarus.
The U.S. and EU have sanctioned Lukashenko and dozens of officials and businessmen with connections to his regime with visa restrictions and asset freezes.
Protasevich had been on a wanted list after 2020's mass street protests following an election in which Lukashenko had claimed a landslide victory, according to NBC News.
