Plane diverted to Belarus lands in Vilnius

Passengers on a Ryanair flight, diverted to Belarus following a bomb alert which led to the arrest of a prominent opponent of Belarus' authoritarian president, finally reached Vilnius - the flight's original destination - on Sunday evening.

Raman Pratasevich, who faces charges that could bring 15 years in prison, was aboard the Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece, to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius when it changed course for Minsk.

The opposition and Western officials denounced the incident on Sunday as a hijacking operation by the Belarus government.

The press service of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the president himself ordered that a MiG-29 fighter jet accompany the airliner after he was informed of the bomb threat. Deputy air force commander Andrei Gurtsevich said the plane's crew made the decision to land in Minsk.

Passengers from the plane complained of hours spent with no information and seeing Pratasevich disembarking and being led away calmly by security.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called the incident a "state-sponsored terror act." He said that the European Council would discuss the case Monday and that he would propose banning Belarusian planes from European Union airports and "serious sanctions" against Lukashenko's government.

"It's not normal," said a French passenger who only gave his name as Arthur. "You cannot have this power to do this, and I think our government should not accept that and there should be some sanctions on Belarus to have done that."

He added: "They can pretend there is a bomb alert, to stop your plane, so for sure it wasn't true. The dogs were more there to cover their excuse, but the facts are, they just wanted to arrest a man."

(Image Credit: AP)