Belarusian opposition Telegram channel Nexta said its former editor and exiled opposition activist Roman Protasevich had been detained at Minsk airport after his Lithuania-bound flight made an emergency landing. Nexta Live and its sister channel Nexta are prominent voices of the Belarus opposition and helped mobilise protesters during the demonstrations that gripped the ex-Soviet country last year after a disputed presidential election.
Protesters demanded the resignation of strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for over two decades and in August secured a landslide victory in an election his opponents say was rigged. Protasevich was travelling aboard a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius, which made an emergency landing following a bomb scare, TASS news agency reported citing the press service of Minsk airport.
"The plane was checked, no bomb was found and all passengers were sent for another security search," Nexta said. - AFP
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