U. S. Charges Belarus Officials with Piracy in Ryanair Event

U. S. prosecutors have charged four members of the Belarussian government with “conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy” in the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk last year. A journalist, known for his opposition to the government of Belarus was onboard and was detained after the other passengers were allowed to depart. During the event, a fighter jet was sent to intercept the aircraft in the air, en route from Athens, Greece to Vilnius, Lithuania. The flight was told there was a bomb threat and they were required to land. There was no bomb and the case against the country’s officials says the threat was not real and used to coerce the aircraft to land so that Roman Protasevich, a Belarusian journalist, could be detained.