KYIV, Ukraine -- A prominent opponent of Belarus' authoritarian president was arrested Sunday after the airliner in which he was traveling was diverted to the country after a bomb threat, in what the opposition is calling a hijacking operation by the government.
The presidential press service said President Alexander Lukashenko personally ordered that a MiG-29 fighter jet accompany the Ryanair plane -- carrying opposition figure Raman Pratasevich and traveling from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania -- to the airport in the capital, Minsk.
Deputy air force commander Andrei Gurtsevich said the plane's crew made the decision to land in Minsk, but Ryanair said in a statement that Belarusian air traffic control instructed the plane to divert to the capital.
The Belarusian Interior Ministry said Pratasevich was arrested at the airport. Pratasevich is a journalist and co-founder of the Telegram messaging app's Nexta channel, which Belarus last year declared as extremist after it was used to help organize major protests against Lukashenko.
Pratasevich, who had fled the country for Poland, faces charges that could carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
The presidential press service said the bomb threat was received while the plane was over Belarusian territory. Officials later said no explosives were found on board. Flight-tracker sites indicate the plane was about 6 miles from the Lithuanian border when it changed course.
Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called on the International Civil Aviation Organization to begin an investigation.
"It is absolutely obvious that this is an operation by the special services to hijack an aircraft in order to detain activist and blogger Raman Pratasevich," she said in a statement. "Not a single person who flies over Belarus can be sure of his safety."
The Civil Aviation Organization said it "is strongly concerned by the apparent forced landing."
Belarusian authorities said there were 123 passengers on the plane, which resumed its trip to Vilnius later Sunday. But Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said there were 171.
While Belarus' biggest ally, Russia, was silent on the incident, the Western condemnation was strong. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Twitter that the plane was "forcibly landed" and that the Belarusian "regime is behind the abhorrent action."
Belarus "showed again its contempt for international community and its citizens," U.S. Ambassador Julie Fisher said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted that "It is utterly unacceptable to force Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius to land in Minsk."
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, "Such an act cannot be left without definite consequences from the side of the European Union" and called for Pratasevich to be released.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he wanted to discuss immediate sanctions at a previously scheduled meeting of European leaders in Brussels today.
"Hijacking of a civilian plane is an unprecedented act of state terrorism. It cannot go unpunished," he wrote on Twitter.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said "this is a serious (and) dangerous incident which requires international investigation." British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Britain is "coordinating with our allies. This outlandish action by Lukashenko will have serious implications."
The act is the latest by Lukashenko to crack down on dissent. Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, claimed a sweeping victory in last year's elections -- a result internationally denounced as rigged. Months of protests over his rule followed, prompting repressions that have left most of the opposition exiled or jailed.
Information for this article was contributed by Jim Heintz, Sylvia Hui and Liudas Dapkus of The Associated Press; and by Isabelle Khurshudyan and Michael Birnbaum of The Washington Post.
