Belarus says Ryanair's forced landing came after Switzerland's bomb notice

By Ali Cura

MOSCOW (AA) – Belarus said on Wednesday the Ryanair flight was forced to divert to Minsk after a bomb notice came from Switzerland.

President Alexander Lukashenko said the plane was diverted as it was flying over an area close to The Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant.

On Sunday, a Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS flight from Greece's capital Athens to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius landed in the Belarusian capital Minsk due to a bomb threat, and Roman Protasevich, a journalist wanted for his involvement in "terrorism incidents," was reportedly detained.

During a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday, Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, identified the Russian woman, who was detained alongside Protasevich, as Sofia Sapega.

Protasevich is the founder of a social media news channel, which reportedly played a major role in protests last summer in Minsk demanding the resignation of Lukashenko after he was awarded a sixth term in a presidential election.

*Beyza Binnur Donmez in Ankara contributed to this story.