EU calls for probe after plane diverted to arrest journalist

BRUSSELS (AP) — Western leaders decried the diversion of a plane to Belarus in order to arrest an opposition journalist as an act of piracy and terrorism. The European Union and others on Monday demanded an investigation into the dramatic forced landing of the Ryanair jet, which was traveling between of the bloc’s two member nations.

The airline said Belarusian flight controllers told the crew there was a bomb threat against the plane as it was crossing through the country's airspace and ordered it to land in the capital of Minsk. A Belarusian MiG-29 fighter jet was scrambled to escort the plane.

Raman Pratasevich, who ran a popular messaging app that played a key role in helping organize massive protests against Belarus’ authoritarian president, was on board and he and his Russian girlfriend were led off the plane shortly after landing. The plane, which began its journey in Athens, Greece, was eventually allowed to continue on to Vilnius, Lithuania.

Western leaders forcefully condemned the move.

A group of the chairs of the foreign affairs committees of several Western countries' legislative bodies called it an act of piracy.

“This reckless act put the passengers and crew in grave danger. It is a reminder of the illegitimacy of the regime claiming authority in Minsk,” signed by representatives from several EU countries, the United Kingdom and the United States, who called for an inquiry by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the plane's diversion was “shocking,” while Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called it a “state-sponsored terror act.” He proposed banning Belarusian planes from European Union airports and “serious sanctions” against the Belarusian government.

The U.S. and the EU already have imposed...