EU Leaders Agree on Belarus Sanctions
The European Union agreed Monday evening, June 23, to impose sanctions on Belarus, including a ban on the use of the country’s aircraft in the airspace and airports of the 27 EU member states.
This decision is in response to the forced landing of a Ryanair passenger aircraft at Minsk airport and the detention of Raman Pratasevich, a journalist opposed to Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus.
The flight was traveling from Athens to Lithuania when Belarusian security forces forced it to land at Minsk airport using a false bomb threat. The European Union has described this action by the Belarusian government as “hijacking” and has called for the immediate release of Mr. Pratasevich.
Charles Michel, President of the European Council who chaired the EU meeting, said: “We will not tolerate anyone betting on the lives or deaths of innocent citizens.”
Belarusian state television broadcast a short video Monday evening of Raman Pratasevich showing him sitting at a desk saying his physical condition is good and that he has been treated “very well and in accordance with the law” during his detention.
Raman Pratasevich was a key member of the Telegram channel “Nexta,” which covered the August popular protests against the government of Alexander Lukashenko. Later in the video, he says he has provided documents to prosecutors regarding how the protests were organized.
EU leaders in Brussels quickly responded to the incident by calling on all airlines of the union to refrain from flying over Belarus.
They also imposed sanctions against Belarusian officials who played a role in the forced landing of the aircraft and urged the International Civil Aviation Organization to launch an investigation into the incident.
EU leaders called on the European Council to “take the necessary measures to ban Belarusian aircraft from flying in EU airspace and prevent Belarusian airlines from using EU airports.”
The immediate release of Sophia Sapega, the girlfriend of Raman Pratasevich who was also taken off the plane and detained, is another demand of EU leaders.
The Lukashenko government has accused the journalist and the Telegram channel “Nexta” of “inciting people to social disorder, civil disobedience, and spreading social hatred.”
Following public protests against the results of the presidential election in Belarus, security and police authorities severely suppressed the protesters and detained 30,000 people. Reports indicate that during this period, hundreds were tortured and many journalists have been persecuted.
Source: RFE/RL
