Thu 03 June 2021:
The European Union is planning to impose on Friday, the first round of sanctions against Belarus, presumably targeting the country’s airlines, over the landing of the Vilnius-bound Ryanair flight and the subsequent arrest of journalist Roman Protasevich, the news agency Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing unidentified diplomats.
According to the agency, EU diplomats are about to ban Belarusian carriers from flying over the bloc’s airspace and landing or taking off from EU airports. If approved, the sanctions are expected to enter force on Saturday at midnight.
The EU is also planning to discuss further restrictions next week, including sanctioning at least seven persons and one legal entity in the country’s aviation industry.
The measures can potentially affect the country’s ministers, air authorities and other aviation-related persons and organizations.
In late May, a flight by the Irish airline Ryanair from Athens to Vilnius was grounded in Minsk over a bomb threat flagged by the Belarusian authorities, which turned out to be fake.
Among the passengers was Protasevich, whose Telegram channel Nexta is believed to have played an important role during last year’s post-election protests and then designated as extremist. The journalist was detained during the stopover, triggering a wave of consternation and outcry from Western politicians and officials.
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