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Bomb threat sent after Ryanair flight diverted to Belarus, Internet provider says

At the same time, Proton Technologies AG said that it "will support European authorities in their investigations upon receiving a legal request"

GENEVA, May 27. /TASS/. Swiss Internet provider Proton Technologies AG has stated that a bomb threat against a Ryanair flight had been sent after the plane had already diverted to Belarus, Reuters reported on Thursday citing the company’s statement.

"We haven’t seen credible evidence that the Belarusian claims are true," the statement noted. At the same time, the Internet provider said that it "will support European authorities in their investigations upon receiving a legal request".

On Wednesday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, at a meeting at the parliament with lawmakers, the members of the Constitutional Commission and the representatives of the bodies of state administration, stated that the bomb threat against the Ryanair jet came from Switzerland. In his turn, Swiss Foreign Ministry Spokesman Pierre-Alain Eltschinger told TASS that he had no information of a bomb threat on the Ryanair flight. In response to a question as to which steps Bern was planning to undertake after Lukashenko’s statement he said: "The Swiss authorities have no knowledge of a bomb threat on the Ryanair Athens-Vilnius flight."

On May 23, a Vilnius-bound Ryanair plane that took off from Athens made an emergency landing at Minsk International Airport after a reported bomb threat. A MiG-29 fighter jet alert crew was scrambled to escort the plane. After the landing and inspection, no bomb was found inside. The Belarusian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into a false bomb alarm. Among the passengers on that flight was Roman Protasevich, one of the co-founders of the Nexta Telegram channel, which Minsk recognizes as extremist. Protasevich was detained by law enforcement officials once the plane had landed in the Belarusian capital. After the incident, some countries began halting air service with Belarus or advising European carriers to suspend flights in the country’s airspace.