The blogger Roman Protasewitsch is said to have quickly known what was in store for him after the emergency landing in Minsk.
This is reported by several eyewitnesses from the plane.
Minks - The blogger Roman Protasewitsch, who is critical of the regime, is said to have quickly realized that the forced emergency landing of Ryanair flight FR4978 was aimed at him. An eyewitness reported that to the Greek TV broadcaster
Mega
. “When I heard that the plane was returning to Belarus, I saw his reaction. He put his hands over his head as if he knew that something bad was going to happen, ”said the Greek Nikos Petalis to the broadcaster via video switch from Vilnius.
Protasevich had panic.
He himself sat near the activist.
This seemed scared.
“They looked at him and thought something was wrong with him.” The passengers were only told that the plane had to make an emergency landing in Minsk.
Without further information, they then had to stay on the plane for an hour.
Reports on Protasevich arrest: Opposition blogger "panicked"
Another passenger, Monika Simkiene, described the situation very similarly: Protasewitsch "panicked".
He turned around and said he was facing the death penalty.
When he realized after landing that his arrest was imminent, he suddenly became "very calm".
Other passengers reported how the young man emptied his pockets while on board the plane and entrusted some items to his girlfriend, who was arrested a little later at Minsk airport.
"He didn't cry, but you could tell that he was very scared," said the passenger Edvinas Dimsa.
"You can say that if a window on the plane had been open he would have jumped."
Reports on Protasevich arrest: EU special summit discusses sanctions
Authorities in the authoritarian Republic of Belarus had diverted the plane on its way from Athens to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius in Minsk and forced it to land.
On board was the blogger Roman Protasewitsch, who was internationally sought after by the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko.
The incident and possible sanctions against Belarus are to be discussed at an already planned EU special summit, which begins on Monday evening.
According to information from the website Flightradar24, which specializes in flight tracking, the Boeing was intercepted over Belarusian territory, shortly before the border with Lithuania.
On board the Ryanair plane were reportedly also agents of the Belarusian secret service KGB,.
Protasevich arrest in Minsk: Blogger is considered a sharp critic of Lukashenko
Under the pretext of the bomb threat, the Ryanair plane was forced to make an unscheduled stopover in Minsk, intercepted by a MiG-29 fighter jet that had taken off at the behest of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
It is an unprecedented process that has resulted in massive international protests and threats of sanctions.
Protasevich has long been a sharp critic of Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron hand since 1994.
At the age of 17, the government opponent was arrested once for running two groups critical of Lukashenko on the Russian social network Vkontakte.
He was beaten so badly that he had blood in his urine for three days, the activist reported at the time.
"You threatened me with unresolved murders."
Video: Forced landing: criticism and sanctions for Belarus
Protasevich has been living in exile since 2019 in Poland and Lithuania.
It was then that he started working for the influential opposition news channel
Nexta
, which currently has up to 1.2 million readers.
The channel played a central role in the mass protests against Lukashenko's re-election last year, which was accompanied by massive allegations of fraud.
An arrest warrant was issued against Protasevich in November.
The regime accuses him of having been involved in "terrorist activities".
Terrorist offenses are subject to the death penalty, which is still being carried out in Belarus.
Calling for mass protests can be punished with up to 15 years imprisonment.
(AFP / dpa / fmü)
