U.S. charges Belarus officials with aircraft piracy over diverted Ryanair flight

21/1/2022 7:13

        The U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday it has charged four Belarusian government officials with aircraft piracy for diverting a Ryanair flight last May to arrest a dissident Belarusian journalist who was on board.
        
        U.S. prosecutors said the officials conspired to use a false bomb threat to divert Ryanair flight 4978 to Minsk on May 23, 2021 from its scheduled trip to Vilnius, Lithuania from Athens, Greece.
        
        According to the prosecutors, passengers were ordered onto airport buses and later detained at the terminal, where the journalist and his girlfriend were led away. No bomb was found, prosecutors added.