KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Raman Pratasevich has been part of the Belarus political opposition for over a decade and has long feared the authorities would try to abduct him, even though he was living abroad. The 26-year-old dissident journalist couldn't imagine, however, just how far they would go. Pratasevich, who ran a channel on a messaging app used to organize demonstrations against the iron-fisted rule of President Alexander Lukashenko, left his.
Belarus flag carrier Belavia has been banned from operating at EU airports.
The European Union seems determined not to let Sunday s incident at Minsk airport go by and is pressing for harsh sanctions against the regime of Belarussian leader Aleksander Lukashenko, starting with a ban on all Belarussian aircraft to fly through EU skies.
EU leaders held an emergency summit Monday to bar Belarusian aircraft from operating at EU airports and flying over EU skies in addition to advising all European carriers to suspend flights through that country’s airspace. But this decision still needs further approval to come into effect.