UK bans Belarus airline, points finger at Russia

LONDON: Britain on Monday banned Belarus flag carrier Belavia and said Russia was likely complicit in the forced landing in Minsk of a civilian jet to detain a dissident journalist.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also said he had told the Civil Aviation Authority to instruct UK aircraft to avoid Belarusian airspace, "in order to keep passengers safe". Shapps suspended the operating permit of Belavia, which flies daily direct flights from Minsk to London Gatwick, and operates other flights to London Heathrow via Paris in a code-share with Air France. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he had summoned the Belarusian ambassador in London to register anger over the "reprehensible" incident and "flagrant breach of international law".

He said London was mulling further sanctions on the regime of strongman Alexander Lukashenko, and the episode involving the Ryanair plane will be raised when Britain hosts G7 leaders at a summit next month.

"In reality we’ve got a number of levers but let’s not pretend they’re a silver bullet," he told parliament, noting Britain had already sanctioned nearly 100 individuals linked to the Lukashenko regime since "rigged" elections last year.

Asked if there was evidence linking Lukashenko’s allies in Russia to the forced landing and arrest of journalist Roman Protasevich, Raab said: "We don’t have any clear details on that. "But it’s very difficult to believe that this kind of action could have been taken without at least the acquiescence of the authorities in Moscow.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday backed calls for an independent investigation after Belarus forced down a commercial airliner so it could arrest an opposition activist.

"The secretary-general is deeply concerned over the apparent forced landing of a passenger aircraft over Belarus on 23 May and the subsequent detention of Roman Protasevich," said the UN chief’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a statement.

"The secretary-general supports calls for a full, transparent and independent investigation into this disturbing incident and urges all relevant actors to cooperate with such an inquiry," he added.

Guterres "remains greatly concerned by the deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus in the aftermath of last August’s presidential elections," the spokesman said. "He urges the Belarusian authorities to fully respect all its international human rights obligations, including in relation to the freedoms of expression, assembly and association."

Earlier, European countries began banning flights over Belarus on Monday after it provoked an international outcry by forcing a commercial airliner to land so it could arrest an opposition activist.

The Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius carrying dissident journalist Roman Protasevich was diverted while in Belarusian airspace on Sunday over a supposed bomb threat. Accompanied by a Belarusian fighter jet on the orders of strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko, the plane landed in the capital Minsk. There Protasevich, a 26-year-old, who had been living between Lithuania and Poland, was arrested along with his Russian girlfriend. Western leaders accused Belarusian authorities of essentially hijacking a European plane, while Minsk claimed it had received a threat from Islamist group Hamas to blow up the aircraft.

As EU leaders prepared to meet for a summit where they are expected to discuss new sanctions, several governments and airlines said they were stopping flights over or with Belarus.