Greece condemns the state hijacking of Ryanair plane, Protesevich’s illegal arrest

The Greek Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the “state hijacking” of a Rynair plane flying from Athens to Vilnius and the “illegal arrest” of journalist Roman Protasevich on Sunday. Belarus tricked the Ryanair pilots calming a bomb was onboard and deployed even a fighter jet to force the plane land in Minsk with the sole purpose to arrest the journalist and opposition activist.

In a statement issued late on Sunday, the Greek Ministry said that 11 passengers on board of the Ryanair FR 4978 were 11 Greek citizens and that FM Nikos Dendias was in contact with his Lithuanian counterpart for a joint EU effort to have all 171 passengers released and safely transferred to Vilnius.

Επικοινώνησα τηλεφωνικά με τον Λιθουανό ομόλογό μου @GLandsbergis, ο οποίος με ενημέρωσε για τις συνθήκες υπό τις οποίες έγινε η αναγκαστική προσγείωση του αεροσκάφους της Ryanair στο Μινσκ. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/JeHuIOK4Gd

— Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) May 23, 2021

Greek Foreign Ministry press release

Greece strongly condemns the state hijacking that took place today and resulted in the forced landing of Ryanair FR 4978, which operated the Athens-Vilnius route in Minsk, Belarus.

The plane had a total of 171 passengers on board, 11 of whom are Greek citizens. This act, which endangered the lives of all passengers, is unacceptable.

We call for the immediate release of the aircraft and all passengers in order to reach their final destination.

We condemn the illegal arrest of the Belarusian activist Roman Protasevich, who is threatened with the death penalty.

Mr Protasevich was part of a delegation led by Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who recently attended the Delphi Forum.

For Greece, defending fundamental values ​​such as democracy, the rule of law and human rights is a matter of principle.

We believe that similar practices, which refer to other times and which are not appropriate for any civilized state, should not go unanswered.

The Greek side is in close coordination with the other EU Member States and expects that this issue will be thoroughly addressed at the forthcoming European Council.

Details about the Belarus state hijack of the Rynair plane here.