Press conference on the situation with Ryanair in Minsk. File photoWASHINGTON, Jan 19 The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said the bombing of a Ryanair plane that made an emergency landing in Minsk last year was false, but did not attribute its spread to any state.
"Since neither the bomb nor evidence of its existence was discovered during the preparations for the landing in Athens and after various checks in Belarus and Lithuania, it is believed that the bomb report was deliberately false", the ICAO report on the incident says , which was sent to the members of the organization.
It notes that the transmission of false information is contrary to the provisions of the Montreux Convention. «The group was unable to attribute this act of unlawful interference to any state,» the document says. in the document, because none of this was provided to the organization. A Ryanair aircraft flying from Athens to Vilnius made an emergency landing at Minsk Airport on May 23, 2021 due to a report of mining, which was subsequently not confirmed. On board was Roman Protasevich, the founder of the Telegram channel Nexta, recognized as extremist in Belarus. While checking documents, he was detained. A criminal case has been initiated against Protasevich under several articles, including the article «organization of mass riots», he faces up to 15 years in prison.
After the incident, European countries said that the Belarusian authorities forced the plane to land under a far-fetched pretext. This was denied in Minsk, arguing that they only recommended landing, and the decision was made by the pilot. After the incident, some airlines began to bypass the airspace of Belarus. The European Union has banned the use of its airspace and airports by the planes of the republic's air carriers.