Belarus Dissident

The Russian girlfriend of a Belarusian dissident sentenced to six years in prison has asked strongman Alexander Lukashenko for a pardon, state media said on Monday.

The Russian girlfriend of a Belarusian dissident arrested with him when their plane was forced to land in Minsk was on Friday sentenced to six years in prison, a rights group said.

Hundreds of people in Warsaw on Saturday rallied in support of the Belarusian opposition, days after the regime in Minsk diverted a European passenger plane and arrested a dissident journalist onboard.

The Russian girlfriend of a Belarusian dissident arrested with him when their plane was diverted to Minsk is being held on suspicion of crimes at the time of protests last year, Moscow said Tuesday.

Belarus air traffic control told a Vilnius-bound Ryanair flight there was a bomb on board and suggested it divert to Minsk, according to a transcript released by the transport ministry Tuesday.

Western powers prepared to pile sanctions on Belarus and cut off its aviation links on Monday, furious after it scrambled a warplane to intercept a Ryanair aircraft and arrest a dissident journalist, an act one official denounced as 'state piracy'.

US President Joe Biden slammed Belarus on Monday for the "outrageous" act of forcing a flight from Greece to Lithuania to land in Minsk where a dissident journalist onboard was arrested.

EU leaders agreed to cut air links with Belarus on Monday, as leader Alexander Lukashenko's regime paraded a dissident journalist arrested after his flight was forced to land in Minsk.

Belarus secret police are believed to have been present when a dissident journalist was detained when his plane was diverted to Minsk, the head of the Irish airline said on Monday.

Authorities in Belarus on Monday insisted they acted legally when they diverted a passenger plane carrying an opposition activist, accusing the West of making unfounded claims for political reasons.

"When it was announced they were going to land in Minsk, Roman stood up, opened the luggage compartment, took luggage and was trying to split things," said the Lithuanian passenger, who gave his name only as Mantas.

Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday congratulated dissident writer Svetlana Alexievich, an outspoken critic of her country's authoritarian regime, for her Nobel prize for literature.

The Russian girlfriend of a Belarusian dissident sentenced to six years in prison has asked strongman Alexander Lukashenko for a pardon, state media said on Monday.

The Russian girlfriend of a Belarusian dissident arrested with him when their plane was forced to land in Minsk was on Friday sentenced to six years in prison, a rights group said.

Hundreds of people in Warsaw on Saturday rallied in support of the Belarusian opposition, days after the regime in Minsk diverted a European passenger plane and arrested a dissident journalist onboard.

The Russian girlfriend of a Belarusian dissident arrested with him when their plane was diverted to Minsk is being held on suspicion of crimes at the time of protests last year, Moscow said Tuesday.

Belarus air traffic control told a Vilnius-bound Ryanair flight there was a bomb on board and suggested it divert to Minsk, according to a transcript released by the transport ministry Tuesday.

Western powers prepared to pile sanctions on Belarus and cut off its aviation links on Monday, furious after it scrambled a warplane to intercept a Ryanair aircraft and arrest a dissident journalist, an act one official denounced as 'state piracy'.

US President Joe Biden slammed Belarus on Monday for the "outrageous" act of forcing a flight from Greece to Lithuania to land in Minsk where a dissident journalist onboard was arrested.

EU leaders agreed to cut air links with Belarus on Monday, as leader Alexander Lukashenko's regime paraded a dissident journalist arrested after his flight was forced to land in Minsk.

Belarus secret police are believed to have been present when a dissident journalist was detained when his plane was diverted to Minsk, the head of the Irish airline said on Monday.

Authorities in Belarus on Monday insisted they acted legally when they diverted a passenger plane carrying an opposition activist, accusing the West of making unfounded claims for political reasons.

"When it was announced they were going to land in Minsk, Roman stood up, opened the luggage compartment, took luggage and was trying to split things," said the Lithuanian passenger, who gave his name only as Mantas.

Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday congratulated dissident writer Svetlana Alexievich, an outspoken critic of her country's authoritarian regime, for her Nobel prize for literature.