Forced landing of Ryanair flight in Minsk

NEXTA founder/editor Roman Protasevich was arrested in Belarus after Ryanair plane Athens-Vilnius landed in Minsk after the captain somehow became aware of a fake bomb threat issued in the name of Hamas. (RFE/RL version here). This seem to follow footsteps of Ukraine forcing return of Belavia plane on Oct. 22, 2016, to detain anti-Maidan blogger, citizen of Armenia (later released). It is also suggested (see eg here) that Russian PMC arrests in Belarus were originally planned in the form of forcing their flight from Minsk to land in Ukraine (this version was reported by Butusov of tsensor.net).

Roman Protasevich

 * Fraternal war. What is the Belarusian volunteer fighting for in Donbass - Focus, June 16, 2015
 * Chase fighter: In case of invasion we will be the first to rush to defend Belarus - Radio Svaboda, September 18, 2015 (archive, mirror)
 * Roman Protasevich - FOIA Research, August 17, 2020, updated: May 24, 2021
 * The NEXTA administrator fought in the Donbass in the ranks of the Azov Battalion in 2014 - NewsFront, September 20, 2021
 * Franak Viačorka @franakviacorka on Twitter, May 23, 2021 (12:35 GMT)
 * ''BREAKING! The regime landed @Ryanair plane, which was flying from Athens to Vilnius, in order to arrest the famous Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich. In Belarus, he faces the death penalty. Belarus has seized a plane, put passengers in danger, in order to repress an opponent
 * It is claimed that Roman was waiting for re-boarding with other passengers and this post and photo alerted Belarus authorities (uncertain/unknown whether it's true)
 * Waiting for Protasevich's testimony- Colonel Cassad, May 24, 2021
 * ‘Hijacked’ Belarus activist Roman Protasevich lived in fear of arrest for two years - The Times, May 24 2021 (archive)
 * Shkvarka News belshkvarka, Telegram, May 25, 2021
 * ''Here one pizdabol declares that "apparently Roman was beaten." We, in turn, would like to note that, apparently, Roman began to be beaten while working for stsepan (Stepan Putilo ?) and continued in the editorial office of the BGM (Belarus Golovnogo Mozga). Or Roman just has acne and skin problems, but that doesn't sound so hype.
 * (treatment still of concern, as for any detainee).
 * Doxxing Protasevich - Colonel Cassad, May 26, 2021
 * Roman Protasevich - Arrested In Belarus - Is A Western Government Financed Neo-Nazi - Moon of Alabama, May 26, 2021
 * No, Belarusian dissident Protasevich is not a neo-Nazi. But the Kremlin sure wants you to think so - Euromaidan Press, May 26, 2021
 * Protasevich giving testimony on sponsors of subversive activity in Belarus, says KGB chief - TASS, May 26, 2021

Sophia Sapega

 * Zheltye Slivy, Telegram, May 25, 2021
 * Russian citizen, lives in Vilnius. Statement made in detention asserts: "I am the editor of the telegram channel "Black Book of Belarus", which publishes personal information about employees of the ministry of internal affairs.
 * She was detained and can be held for 72 hours by law, then charged or released. It is said that she is arrested for 2 months
 * What did Sofia Sapega do - Colonel Cassad, May 25, 2021
 * Sapega faces 12 years in prison - Colonel Cassad, May 26, 2021

Bomb threat

 * Ryanair’s statement - Ryanair Press Office on Twitter, May 23, 2021
 * RyanAir Emergency Landing Incident - caa.gov.by (includes transcript)
 * Ryanair's emergency landing in Minsk. Nexta founder Roman Protasevich arrested - ONT TV, May 23, 2021
 * Fighter jet scrambled to escort Ryanair plane - Belarusian defense ministry - TASS, May 23, 2021
 * Belarus points to Hamas bomb threat in plane diversion, Hamas rejects claim - Reuters, May 24, 2021 (archive)
 * A recording of negotiations with the plane on which the detained founder of NEXTA Protasevich was flying - RBK, May 24, 2021
 * Content of Ryanair aircraft bomb message revealed - belta.by, May 24, 2021
 * It is inappropriate to say that the MiG-29 crew on duty interrupted the Ryanair flight - Golub - belta.by, May 24, 2021
 * MayDay 12:47, fighter plane took of 13:04, plane at the time was near Stolbtsy, en route to Minsk
 * Kotsnews, Telegram, May 24, 2021
 * ''Passengers missing from the Ryanair flight are found, who have already been called agents of the KGB (well, or the FSB). Two Belarusians and a Greek.
 * Protasevich’s girlfriend only Russian on board Ryanair flight forced to land in Minsk, rubbishing claims security agents involved - RT, May 25, 2021
 * ONT News, Telegram, May 26, 2021
 * The opposition knew about the provocation in the skies of Belarus two weeks before the event. And the exact date was named! (25 May was named in "Belsat" talk show by Vladimir Nekliaev answering question when the regime will collapse ; Council of Europe meeting was on May 24-25, with sanctions announced on the 24th; plane landed on May 23).

Ryanair plane

 * Poland insists on access to black boxes of Ryanair plane forcibly landed in Belarus - rua.gr, May 25, 2021

Official comments

 * Lukashenko comments on Athens-Vilnius flight incident - Belta, May 26, 2021
 * What Lukashenko said about the Ryanair incident - First Pool, Telegram, May 26, 2021
 * The message about the bombing of the aircraft came from Switzerland, received by airports in Minsk, Athens, and Vilnus.

Precedents

 * Ryanair flight hit with bomb hoax BEFORE taking off in Lithuania but was cleared to fly – until hitting UK airspace where RAF scrambled to intercept it - The Sun, October 4, 2017
 * Two men are arrested over Ryanair 'bomb scare' that forced Krakow to Dublin flight to make emergency landing at Stansted after crew found note in loo claiming explosives were on board - Daily Mail, July 14, 2020

Protonmail

 * Russia's FSB blocks another anonymous email service used for fake bomb threats - TASS, January 29, 2021

Sanctions

 * Belarus faces sanctions backlash over jetliner ‘state piracy’ - Reuters, May 24, 2021
 * EU Moves to Bar Belarusian Aircraft From Entering Bloc’s Airspace Over Ryanair Landing - Sputnik, May 24, 2021
 * FM: No country has requested information about the Ryanair incident from Belarus so far - Belta, May 24, 2021

Analysis

 * May 24, 2021 Lukashenko's Revenge (Served Cold) - Moon of Alabama, May 24, 2021
 * As Anger Toward Belarus Mounts, Recall the 2013 Forced Landing of Bolivia's Plane to Find Snowden - Glenn Greenwald, May 24, 2021
 * Belarus ‘hijacking’ is test for international community - Luke Harding, The Guardian, May 24, 2021
 * of a Ryanair flight and arrest of Protasevich - What if Belarus had fallen into a trap set by Ukraine? - Christelle Néant, Donbass Insider, May 26, 2021