Lukashenko defends plane diversion, says Belarus acted ‘lawfully’

A defiant President Alexander Lukashenko has defended Belarus's diversion of a European flight and arrest of a dissident on board, lashing out at critics at home and abroad.

In his first public statement since the Ryanair flight was diverted and opposition journalist Roman Protasevich arrested on Sunday, Lukashenko dismissed the international outcry the incident provoked.

"I acted lawfully to protect our people," Lukashenko said in an address to parliament, the Belta state-run news agency reported.

The Belarus strongman claimed the flight was ordered to be grounded following a bomb threat that was sent from Switzerland. 

"The Swiss authorities have no knowledge of a bomb threat on the Ryanair Athens-Vilnius flight," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. 

"Therefore, there have been no announcements from the Swiss authorities to the Belarusian authorities on this matter.

Lukashenko called it an “absolute lie” that a fighter jet he scrambled was forcing the passenger plane to land in Minsk.

The carrier has said its crew was instructed to land. The plane was searched once on the ground, and no bomb was found but Protasevich – the 26-year-old co-founder of opposition Telegram channel Nexta – and his Russian girlfriend Sofia Sapega were arrested after the plane landed.

"Our ill-wishers at home and abroad have changed their methods of attacking the state," Lukashenko said.

"They have crossed many red lines and crossed boundaries of common sense and human morality."

READ MORE: Belarus sentences activists to jail over 2020 protests

Lukashenko – often dubbed "Europe's last dictator" – is facing some of the strongest international pressure of his 26-year rule of ex-Soviet Belarus.

The strongman and his allies are already under a series of Western sanctions over a brutal crackdown on mass protests that followed his disputed re-election to a sixth term last August.

European leaders are now accusing authorities in Minsk of essentially hijacking the passenger flight and they agreed this week to cut air links with Belarus and told airliners to avoid the country's airspace.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday there was no reason to doubt statements made by the Belarusian leader.

Video 'confessions'

The Belarusian opposition has called for further and stronger measures and more protests.  The UN Security Council is set to meet behind closed doors later on Wednesday.

Belarus has released a transcript of communications between Minsk air traffic control and the Ryanair flight, in which the crew was told "you have a bomb on board" and urged to land in Minsk.

Protasevich, who had been living between Poland and Lithuania, appeared in a video on Monday in which he confessed to helping to organise mass unrest, a charge that could land him in jail for 15 years. His father said the confession was coerced.

Sapega, a 23-year-old law student at the European Humanities University (EHU) in Lithuania, appeared in another video on Tuesday, saying she worked for a Telegram channel that disclosed information about Belarusian police.

Her lawyer said she had been ordered held for two months of pre-trial detention and Russia confirmed she was being detained as a criminal suspect.

Belarus's opposition says such videos are routinely recorded by security forces, with participants forced to make statements under duress.

READ MORE: Belarus releases transcript after Ryanair plane landing furore

'They're going to kill him'

Protasevich's mother told AFP in Poland that she had not slept since he was arrested.

"I'm asking, I'm begging, I'm calling on the whole international community to save him," Natalia Protasevich said, weeping.

"They're going to kill him in there."

EU leaders on Monday warned they would adopt further "targeted economic sanctions" against the Belarusian authorities to add to the 88 regime figures and seven companies on a blacklist.

Last year's protests lasted for months, with tens of thousands taking to the streets to denounce Lukashenko, but were brutally quashed and thousands were detained – many of whom reported torture and abuse in custody.

Many protest leaders – including now-exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya who claimed victory in the August vote – fled the country, and the demonstrations have dwindled.

Tikhanovskaya this week urged Europe and Washington to take stronger action against Lukashenko's regime, but he continues to enjoy solid support from Russia.

Speaking to the European Parliament via video link on Wednesday, Tikhanovskaya called for a series of concrete measures, including a ban on new foreign investments and on Belarus's main exports like oil and metal products, potash fertilisers and wood.

Diplomatic sources told AFP the UN Security Council would hold an informal meeting on Belarus on Wednesday but was unlikely to agree on a collective statement because of Russia's support for Minsk.

READ MORE: EU weighs response to Belarus ‘hijacking’ plane to arrest journalist