VIENNA, May 23. /TASS/. Austria’s foreign ministry insists on an independent international investigation of the incident with the Ryanair passenger plane flying from Athens to Vilnius that made an emergency landing at Minsk’s airport and demanded immediate release of activist Roman Protasevich who was among the plane’s passengers and was detained after the landing.
"Alarming reports about a Ryanair plane that was diverted to Minsk. All passengers must be allowed to continue their travels and we need an independent international investigation into this incident. We urgently demand the release of activist Roman Protasevich," the ministry wrote on its Twitter account.
The Ryanair plane flying from Athens to Vilnius made an emergency landing at Minsk’s airport after the pilots had reported a bomb threat.
It was reported after the plane’s landing that former editor-in-chief of the Nexta Telegram channel, which had been recognized as extremist in Belarus, Romat Protasevich was among the passengers. The man was detained.
Meanwhile, Lina Beisiene, a spokeswoman for Lietuvos oro uostai the operator of Lithuanian airports, said on Sunday that Lithuania’s aviation authorities had no information about any bombs onboard the plane. She said that plane had made an emergency landing because of a conflict between a passenger and a crewmember. However, she disclosed no details.