James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

Image source, EPA

Sanctions are a popular tool in diplomacy. They sound tough, often cost little and, by and large, don’t involve loss of life.

But will the measures being discussed in Brussels this evening make a difference?

Belarus is already subject to a range of UK and EU sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes.

The obvious first option is to harden those sanctions and widen their impact. But EU politicians have already said an act of external aggression like this requires more.

So that will probably involve some kind of EU-wide ban on Belarus’s national carrier and a declaration the country’s airspace is unsafe.

The big question is whether the EU will go even further and impose sanctions on big state-owned companies and key sectors of the Belarus economy, such as oil or potash. Some countries may not want to go that far.

Some may be reluctant to see the people of Belarus suffer for the sins of their leaders. Others will fear that deepening the country’s isolation will only push it further into the warm embrace of Russia. So sanctions might sometimes sound like an easy option. But not always.

Earlier on Monday, Belarus alleged that a letter purportedly from Palestinian militant group Hamas contained a bomb threat against the Ryanair flight - forcing its eventual diversion to Minsk.

The allegation was met with scepticism. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the Belarus explanations "completely implausible".

Now, a spokesman for Hamas has denied the group's involvement.

According to Reuters news agency, spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the group "has nothing to do with that completely".

"We don’t resort to these methods, which could be the doing of some suspicious parties that aim to demonise Hamas and foil the state of world sympathy with our Palestinian people and their legitimate resistance," he reportedly said.

Last week Hamas and Israel agreed a ceasefire after 11 days of violence. More than 250 people were killed, most of them in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

You can read more about the conflict here

Olga Robinson
BBC Monitoring

Image source, AFP

Belarusian opposition journalist Roman Protasevich is a former editor of the Nexta channel on Telegram.

This online messenger platform has been a key source of news and communication for opposition activists and protesters in the post-Soviet space for a while.

Its chats are encrypted and its public channels allow an instant rebuttal of the narrative on state media.

It was widely used to co-ordinate mass protests last year over the disputed presidential election in Belarus, with the Nexta Live channel playing a leading role.

Many pro-change media outlets also adopted the app for news reporting when the government blocked their websites.

The rise of Telegram has drawn criticism from the authorities and state media in Belarus, who have blamed it for stoking disturbances.

But, unlike traditional media outlets, Telegram is very difficult to shut down.

Russia lifted a two-year ban on the messenger in 2020, after it became clear that users in the country were still able to access it.

Image source, Reuters

As international anger builds over the flight diversion, Belarusian officials have been giving their version of events to state media.

Speaking to Belta, external, Belarusian foreign minister Vladimir Makei said his country was prepared to share data and allow international specialists to investigate the incident.

"But no country of the European Union, not a single Western country has requested information about the incident from Belarus as far as I know at the moment," the minister said.

Earlier, the head of Belarus's aviation authority insisted that the crew of the Ryanair flight made an emergency landing in Minsk of their own volition.

“I would like to emphasise that according to the transcript of communication between the air traffic control and the crew, Belarusian air traffic controllers did not pressure the Ryanair crew into making the decision," the official said, external.

His comments come after Lithuanian police said the decision to land in Minsk was made by the plane's crew in consultation with Ryanair's management.

An account of that decision-making process has not been shared by Ryanair.

Dmitri Protasevich has told the BBC's Sarah Rainsford he fears for the safety of his son Roman, the opposition journalist detained by Belarusian police on the Ryanair flight.

"We are really shocked, really upset and depressed by what’s happened," he said. "But we can’t just let it go without punishment."

The BBC World Service has been speaking to protesters in Belarus about the flight.

One demonstrator who identified himself as Pavel said this was "a new level of shock for me".

“When you constantly read or watch news like that, you tend to think that you’re getting used to them, but sometimes there’s a new twist and you realise you‘re not ready for everything yet," he told the BBC. "Terrorised… that’s the word.”

“It looks like they’re testing how far they can go. But I think everybody understands that they actually can go really far if there won’t be any appropriate reaction to this. Nobody really wants to find out, how deep is this rabbit hole? There should be a way to stop the degree of this insanity.”

"For me and my friends, it looks like there are no brakes that can stop the government now," another protester, Dzmitry, told the BBC.

"It shouldn’t be ‘deep concern’ about the situation, not deep concern only. We have a lot of local jokes about it that the EU bureaucratic machine just constantly reacts to any new level of repressions having kind of just a vocal reaction and that is far from real actions that may have an effect on those who control money and resources in Belarus."

You can listen to the programme here

Image source, Tut.By via Reuters

Image source, EPA

We can now bring you some reaction from the US, which joined the condemnation of the diversion of the Ryanair flight by Belarus.

"This was a shocking act of diverting a flight between two EU member states for the apparent purpose of arresting a journalist," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday.

Calling for an international probe of the incident, she said the diversion amounted to "a brazen affront to international peace and security by the regime".

Earlier, exiled Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said she was in touch with the White House about the flight.

"We have to build a broad coalition of countries, especially those affected, in order to conduct a throughout the investigation of the incident," she said.

Ahead of a special European Council summit, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has tweeted that the body will focus on "the unacceptable hijacking of the Ryanair flight by Belarus authorities".

Additional sanctions could cover individuals involved in the incident, businesses that finance President Lukashenko's "regime", and the aviation sector, she said.

But what specifically can the EU do? The bloc has had sanctions in place against Belarus since 2004, with the freshest measures imposed last year after the disputed presidential election led to a wave of unrest and a brutal crackdown by the state.

You can read more about their options here

There's been no word about opposition journalist Roman Protasevich after he was taken off the Ryanair flight by Belarusian police. Witnesses said the activist was "super-scared" when he was detained, and told fellow passengers he would face the death penalty.

Now the editor of Nexta, the media outlet Mr Protasevich used to work for, has tweeted that "according to his mother, Roman Protasevich is in hospital in critical condition - heart disease".

The BBC has not verified this information. It is unknown if the 26-year-old previously suffered from heart problems.

On Friday, Belarusian political activist Vitold Ashurak reportedly died in prison, external of heart failure. The 50-year-old was jailed after taking part in demonstrations against President Lukashenko's disputed re-election in 2020. His wife reportedly said he had no history of heart problems.

Mohamed Yehia
BBC Arabic

Image source, Reuters

In a surprising development, Belarus has shared details of a purported bomb-threat message that it said prompted the diversion of the Ryanair flight.

The Belarusian Transport Ministry claimed Palestinian militant group Hamas sent the message via email to Minsk National Airport on 23 May.

The message, shared with Belarusian state media outlet Belta, external, said:

“We, soldiers of Hamas, demand that Israel cease fire in the Gaza Strip. We demand that the European Union stop supporting Israel in this war. We know that participants of the Delfi Economic Forum are returning home aboard flight FR4978. A bomb has been planted on the aircraft. If our demands are not met, the bomb will explode over Vilnius on 23 May.”

The Belarusian claim should be treated with caution and scepticism for two reasons.

Firstly, the date of the purported message demanding a ceasefire in Gaza is two days after a truce mediated by Egypt came into effect.

Secondly, Hamas has no history or known capability of mounting operations outside Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Clearly, European leaders have not been convinced by Belarus's explanations either. On Monday, German leader Chancellor Angela Merkel said they were "completely implausible".

When Roman Protasevich was taken off the plane in Minsk, his Russian girlfriend Sofia Sapega was led away with him.

Her mother, Anna Dudich, has confirmed for BBC Russian that the 23-year-old is now in a Minsk jail. The accusations against her are unclear.

The last word she managed to write on her Whatsapp messaging account was "Mummy", Dudich said from her home in Lida, Belarus.

"She didn't manage to write anything else," the mother continued. "We were not in contact again. She is now in the Okrestina Detention Centre. We found her today and hired a lawyer."

Dudich said her daughter had been "on holiday" with Protasevich and was an "ordinary student".

Full story (in Russian)

Earlier we had a post about Latvia and Belarus expelling each others' ambassadors and diplomats. Belarus reportedly gave the Latvian ambassador 24 hours to leave the country on Monday, prompting an identical response from Latvia.

The mutual measures came just hours after Martins Stakis, mayor of Latvia's capital Riga, raised a flag used by the Belarusian opposition outside the venue for the 2021 World Ice Hockey Championships, currently taking place in the city.

"Among the flags of the hockey championship, we raise the flag of free Belarus!" he tweeted, external. "This flag was entrusted to me by political refugees from Belarus. A flag symbolizing a regime engaged in state terrorism does not belong in Riga – so we took it down!"

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics also took part in the flag-raising, tweeting a photo of the event and calling for the release of Roman Protasevich, the opposition journalist detained on the Ryanair flight.

Minsk was originally down to co-host the ice hockey tournament, but it was moved to Riga, external in February due to "security concerns".

Image source, EPA

Arriving at the European Council meeting in Brussels where sanctions will be discussed, German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded the immediate release of the opposition journalist Roman Protasevich, who was detained on the flight.

"We have seen a forced landing that led to the arrest," the chancellor said. "All other explanations for the landing of this Ryanair flight are completely implausible."

Earlier, Belarus alleged that Minsk airport had received a bomb threat purportedly from Palestinian militant group Hamas, which led to the flight eventually diverting to Belarus.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas released a statement on Monday saying the Belarusian government's explanations for the plane diversion were "implausible and not credible".

"We need clarity about what really happened yesterday - on board and on the ground. And we need clarity about the situation of Roman Protasevich and his partner, who must be released immediately," the statement read, external. "To this end, we have summoned the Belarusian Ambassador to the Federal Foreign Office for this evening."

Franak Viacorka, adviser to Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and friend of the detained journalist, has said the forcible diversion of the plane showed the risk of flying over Belarus.

"Lukashenko's regime is using all possible ways in order to persecute opponents, journalists, activists," Mr Viacorka told BBC World News.

Western countries have condemned the action by Belarus, which said it scrambled a fighter jet to force the plane to land because of a bomb threat.

Image source, Getty Images

President Alexander Lukashenko, who has led Belarus since 1994, won another election last year with around 80% of the vote. Many Western powers have disputed the result

In the build-up to the election, Mr Lukashenko cracked down on protests that erupted around the country against him.

Anger towards Mr Lukashenko's government has been fuelled by its alleged human rights abuses, and partly by its response to coronavirus.

The president has downplayed the outbreak, advising citizens to drink vodka and use saunas to fight the disease.

In recent years, the president has overseen an aggressive campaign against political opponents and many have fled into exile. Among them are opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a human rights activist who ran against the president in the election.

Ms Tikhanovskaya attended a conference in Greece with journalist Roman Protasevich before he was arrested en route to Lithuanian.

She says he faces the death penalty because he has been categorised as a terrorist.

Image source, Reuters

The diversion of the flight has brought global attention to Roman Protasevich, a dissident Belarusian journalist.

He was detained by Belarusian police after an unfounded claim of a bomb threat prompted his plane to land in Minsk.

But who is Protasevich exactly, and why was he taken into custody?

Protasevich is a former editor of Nexta, a media operation with a Telegram channel, and has long been critical of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Protasevich left Belarus in 2019 to live in exile in Lithuania. From there he covered the events of the 2020 presidential election, after which he was charged with terrorism and inciting riots.

Nexta played a key role for the opposition during the vote, which was won by Lukashenko and is widely regarded as rigged.

Protasevich was in Athens to attend an economic conference along with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the opposition leader who claimed victory in the election.

In a news conference on Monday Tikhanovskaya, who also lives in exile in Lithuania, said she feared Protasevich may be tortured in the custody of Berurisian authorities.

Read more about Protasevich here

Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has called on the West to enforce further sanctions on President Lukashenko over the detention of journalist Roman Protasevich.

Speaking live on Twitter on Monday afternoon, she said she had been on the same flight from Athens a week earlier.

"From now on, no person from any country who flies over Belarus is guaranteed even basic safety," Tsikhanouskaya added.

"Lukashenko personally caused an international scandal, used military aircraft against civilians of Belarus and European countries. Anyone can be in Roman's place, any plane can be hijacked."

Nick Beake
Brussels Corrspondent

Europe’s leaders are now trying to agree on the sort of action that can match the strength of their language used to condemn Belarus: “state-sponsored terrorism”, “hijacking", "the jeopardising of more than 120 lives”.

The EU has already placed asset freezes and travel bans on more than 80 Belarusian officials, including President Lukashenko, following the crackdown on opponents of the regime in the wake of last summer’s disputed election.

French officials say flights over Belarusian airspace could be suspended, and the Belarussian national carrier could be barred from flying into the EU.

But reaching a unanimous, strong conclusion this evening may be tough – with the likes of Hungary reluctant to punish a friend and fellow ally of Moscow.

Image source, Reuters

As Western countries condemn Belarus, Russia is urging a restrained response to the flight diversion.

Speaking at a news conference in Sochi with his Greek counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the situation "must not be looked at in a hurry but on the basis of all the available information".

Mr Lavrov quoted Belarus's foreign minister, who said the country wanted to act transparently over the incident, a statement Mr Lavrov described as "an absolutely reasonable approach".

Earlier, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticised the Western reaction to Belarus's actions.

"The fact that the West is calling the incident in Belarus's airspace 'shocking' is shocking," she wrote on Facebook.

"The blood and suffering of millions around the whole world have knocked out from under the Western demagogues the stool from which they lectured," she added.

Image source, Reuters

Where is Belarus?

It has its ally Russia to the east and Ukraine to the south. To the north and west lie EU and Nato members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Why does it matter?

Like Ukraine, this nation of 9.5 million is caught in rivalry between the West and Russia. President Lukashenko has been nicknamed "Europe's last dictator" - he has been in power for 27 years.

What's going on there?

There is a huge opposition movement demanding new, democratic leadership and economic reform. The opposition movement and Western governments say Mr Lukashenko rigged the 9 August election. Officially he won by a landslide. A huge police crackdown has curbed street protests and sent opposition leaders to prison or into exile.

Image source, Tut.By via Reuters