A Ryanair plane flying from Greece to Lithuania has been diverted to Minsk, with Belarusian opposition figures saying it was done so a dissident journalist on board could be arrested. Belarus state media said the plane had been diverted because of a bomb scare. Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was beaten by Alexander Lukashenko last year in presidential polls widely denounced as rigged, also demanded Mr Protasevich's release. In the UK, Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, said that "forcing an aircraft to land to silence opposition voices is an attack on democracy." Russian media quoted the Minsk airport press service as saying the plane had made an emergency landing following an alleged bomb scare.

Source: The Star May 23, 2021 15:11 UTC