Belarus withheld information from Ryanair diversion probe, U.N. says

A United Nations report into the forced diversion of a Ryanair jetliner last year has found that a bomb threat that drew the plane to Minsk was “deliberately false” and that Belarus withheld crucial information from its fact-finding team. The UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization set up a specialist fact-finding team in May 2021, days after Belarus diverted the Vilnius-bound jet carrying a wanted opponent to Minsk following what it described as a bomb threat. Dissident Belarus journalist Roman Protasevich and his Russian girlfriend were detained in Minsk following the diversion, which took place shortly before the jet was due to leave Belarus airspace, prompting international uproar. Girlfriend Sofia Sapega has since been charged with inciting social hatred and could face up to 12 years in prison, while Protasevich remains under house arrest. The report, sent to ICAO’s 193 member states on Monday, said Belarus authorities did not properly contact Ireland-based Ryanair about the alleged bomb threat, despite regulations urging them to do so, and did not help crew talk to their base. The pilots agreed to divert to Minsk after a Belarus air traffic controller declared “code red”, indicating a credible threat to the aircraft necessitating an immediate landing. Story has more.<br/>