Belarus accused of ‘hijacking’ Ryanair jet with fake bomb alert

BELARUS has been accused of "hijacking" a Ryanair flight with a fake bomb alert and forcing it to land in order to arrest an exiled opposition activist who was on board.

European countries blasted President Alexander Lukashenko for "state terrorism" after he ordered a MiG-29 fighter to escort the holiday jet to the capital Minsk earlier on Sunday.

Pavel Latushka, a member of the Belarusian Coordination Council, has claimed air traffic controllers threatened to shoot down the Ryanair flight FR4978 if it didn't divert to Minsk.

The flight is said to have been closer to Vilnius than to Minsk when it was diverted, according to a BBC report.

Quaking journalist Roman Protasevich, 26, a prominent critic of the regime told fellow passengers he was "facing the death penalty" as he was led away by security forces.

No explosives were found on board and the plane was cleared to continue its journey from Athens to Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

Western leaders reacted with outrage and demanded the dissident be set free.

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said: “This outlandish action by Lukashenko will have serious implications.”

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