Headline Roundup • May 24th, 2021
US Condemns Belarus for Grounding Commercial Flight to Detain Journalist
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Officials in the U.S. and Europe have sharply criticized Belarus for grounding a Ryanair commercial flight to arrest Roman Protasevich, a 26-year-old journalist who ran a messaging app used to coordinate protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The plane was escorted to Minsk, Belarus by a fighter jet after it crossed over Belarusian airspace on its way to Vilnius, Lithuania from Athens, Greece. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken demanded the journalist’s release on Sunday, condemning “the Lukashenka regime’s brazen and shocking act.” The same day, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary called Belarus’ actions “a case of state-sponsored hijacking.” The European Commission will reportedly meet to discuss the situation on Monday.
Coverage from across the spectrum was generally balanced, focusing on the widespread statements condemning Belarus’ actions.
Featured Coverage of this Story
BBC News
Western countries have condemned Belarus for diverting a plane flying over its territory to arrest an opposition journalist.
EU leaders are due to discuss their response to what the union's executive called a "hijacking" and the US state department said was "a shocking act".
Belarus scrambled a fighter jet to force the plane - bound for Lithuania - to land, claiming a bomb threat.
Police took Roman Protasevich away when passengers disembarked.
The 26-year-old was aboard the Ryanair plane, which was flying from the Greek capital, Athens. The aircraft was...
NBC News Digital
"Piracy," "hijacking" and "state terrorism" — the condemnation of Belarus was swift and strong after it forced the landing of a commercial airplane carrying an opposition journalist.
In a show of unified fury, the United States, Britain, the European Union, NATO and the United Nations on Monday lined up to call out the action in the skies above the eastern European country led by Alexander Lukashenko, often referred to as Europe's last dictator.
"We strongly condemn the Lukashenka regime's brazen and shocking act," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday, using an alternative spelling for Lukashenko and noting that American...
New York Post (News)
The US has condemned Belarus for forcing a passenger airplane to land for a supposed “security alert” — leading to the arrest of an opposition journalist on board.
In a statement released late Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the immediate release of Raman Pratasevich, a vocal critic of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko who was busted after the plane touched down in Minsk.
“The United States strongly condemns the forced diversion of a flight between two EU member states and the subsequent removal and arrest of journalist Raman...
