Belarus' "Ryanair hijacking must be sanctioned" and the opposition blogger it snatched must be freed, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said.
Her unusually strident remarks came after Belarus president Aleksander Lukashenko shocked Europe on Sunday (23 May) by forcing a passenger flight from Athens to Vilnius carrying more than 140 people to make an emergency landing in Belarus instead.
The Ryanair flight 4978 was also carrying a Belarusian opposition blogge...
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Already a member? Login hereAndrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.
Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.