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.
Raman Pratasevich, who'd fled his country in 2019, was arrested after Belarus scrambled a fighter jet and used a false bomb alert to divert the flight he was on to Minsk.
Last Sunday, Raman Pratasevich was detained by the Belarusian government after his flight was intercepted in Belarusian airspace. Who is Mr. Pratasevich, and why does the authoritarian government see him as such a threat?
Thousands of Belarusians who have fled a brutal crackdown on dissent are shocked by the forced landing of a flight to arrest an opposition journalist.
“He has succeeded in waking up Belarusians, connecting the discontent that was smoldering within the society with the new technologies, which led to unprecedented rallies and provoked the dictator’s anger,” said Franak Viachorka, a longtime friend.
After the plane’s forced landing in Minsk, which outraged Western leaders described as akin to air piracy and hijacking, the European Union barred Belarusian airlines from its airspace and airports, and advised its carriers to skirt Belarus. It is weighing other sanctions that could target top Belarusian companies.
At 26, Belarus journalist has spent a decade in opposition kdhnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kdhnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.