Airline CEO: Belarus Dissident Snatch Was ‘State-Sponsored Hijacking’ With KGB Agents on Board

The boss of Ryanair has accused Belarus of carrying out a “state-sponsored hijacking” a day after after one of his planes was forced to land so authorities could snatch an opposition journalist. Belarus has been condemned by Western countries after it scrambled a fighter jet to harass the plane into making an emergency landing in the country Sunday. Police then came on board and detained the dissident Raman Protasevich, who runs a Telegram channel read by millions. Speaking Monday on Irish radio, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said: “This was a case of state-sponsored hijacking... state-sponsored piracy... It appears the intent of the authorities was to remove a journalist and his travelling companion... we believe there were some KGB agents offloaded at the airport as well.” A fellow passenger told Bloomberg News that Protasevich was immediately singled out by police when they were forced to disembark, saying: “They made a big show. But it was clear that this operation was after this one man.”