European Union imposes new sanctions on Belarus over Ryanair flight diversion incident

The European Union, on June 16, slapped a fresh set of sanctions on 78 individuals and seven entities of Belarus in response to the coerced landing of a Ryanair plane and subsequent arrest of a dissident journalist on board, RTE reported citing an EU diplomat. The new sanctions were approved by all ambassadors of the bloc and would be put in practice at a meeting of foreign ministers on Monday. Since the diversion of the plane in May, European Union has taken a stance against the Lukashenko administration, starting in June it banned Belarusian flagship airlines to fly over its airspace. Additionally, all the 27 members of the bloc have also barred their respective airlines to use Belarusian airspace.

Sanctioned individuals related to aviation

All the officials enlisted on the sanction list are related to the country’s aviation department. A DW report stated that the latest set of measures target Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko and the country’s economy. While the names of seven entities under sanctions are yet not clear, the punitive measures could reportedly target bond sales, the oil sector and another major Belarusian export including potash. 

Meanwhile, the bloc members also signed off the fourth package of asset freeze and travel bans that were already in planning when the Ryanair aircraft incident took place. These sanctions, imposed as a countermeasure to last August’s Belarusian Presidential elections, targets 70 officials. It is imperative to note that the west immediately denounced the elections but Lukashenko still holds power. 

On May 23, Belarusian authorities dispatched a fighter jet to force another Ryanair flight to divert to Minsk where they arrested a dissident journalist. According to the Minsk National Airport's press service, a Ryanair flight en route from Athens to Vilnius (Lithuania) was forced to make an emergency landing in Minsk, Belarus. According to the Russian news agency, Roman Protasevich, the operator of a Telegram channel that Minsk has designated as extremist, was detained during the stopover at the airport. Later, the plane was cleared to take off from Minsk and arrived in Vilnius at 18:27 GMT.  European Union, supported by the US, called it "air piracy" and slammed Belarus for its draconian step. 

Image: AP