Belarusian officials were charged in New York

The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday announced charges against Belarusian government officials accused of diverting an Ryan Air flight in 2021 to arrest an opposition journalist on board. Four Belarusian officials have been charged, according to a Manhattan federal prosecutor “Conspiracy to commit a hijacking to divert Ryanair flight 4978” May 23, 2021, which connects Athens with Vilnius and Minsk Airport “Response to the bomb threat on the plane”.

Read moreRevelations about the hijacking of a Ryanair plane by Belarus

In detail, the U.S. Judiciary accuses “Belarusian government officials Leonid Mikhailovich Suro, Oleg Kassuchits”, And two with incomplete or unknown identities “Must have been centrally involved in the conspiracy”. Four men live and are considered in Belarus “While running” By American justice.

This was on a Ryanair flight “Four U.S. citizens and more than a hundred travelers”According to Damien Williams, Manhattan Federal Attorney. On behalf of the accused, Leonid Mikhailovich Suro and Oleg Kasujitsz are the Director and Deputy Director of Civil Aviation of Belarus. The other two are officers of the Belarusian State Security Service. On May 23, 2021, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko provoked international outrage by sending a fighter jet to intercept a Ryanair FR4978 connecting Greece to Lithuania.

The plane was forced to land in Minsk and Belarusian authorities arrested a disgruntled journalist, Roman Protashevich, and his accomplice, Sofia Sabeka. Several countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union, have announced sanctions on Belarus.