The OSCE Permanent Council discusses the incident in Belarus
On 25 May, the Permanent Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) discussed the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk on Sunday and the detention of a Belarusian journalist and democratic opposition activist, founder of the Nexta information channel Raman Pratasevich. A student of the European Humanities University in Vilnius Sofia Sapega, who was travelling with him, was also taken into custody.
Lithuania underlined that the forced landing of a civilian aircraft traveling between the two EU capitals - Athens and Vilnius - constituted a gross violation of international law. It is also a dangerous act, which endangered the lives of civilians and could reasonably be described as an act of state terrorism, requiring an urgent and thorough international investigation. Until this is resolved, Belarusian airspace is clearly not safe.
Lithuania demanded an immediate release of Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega.
Lithuania also expressed grave concern over the ongoing systemic human rights violations in Belarus, condemned the prohibition of the Tut.by website, and the detention of its journalists. It was highlighted that Belarus continued to apply pressure on the independent media. The country is persecuting journalists, members of the pro-democracy opposition and peaceful protesters. The power of the authorities has been increased through the legislation with the aim of suppressing the opposition's opinion and activities. Lithuania concluded by demanding an immediate release of all Belarusian political prisoners and those who had been unjustly detained.
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