La procura di Manhattan ha incriminato quattro dirigenti del Governo bielorusso accusandoli di cospirazione e pirateria, per aver dirottato, nel maggio 2021, un aereo della Ryanair in volo da Atene a Vilnius e costretto i piloti ad atterrare a Minsk, dove il dissidente bielorusso Roman Protasevich e la sua compagna russa Sofia Sapega (che si trovavano a bordo), furono arrestati. Lo riferiscono i media statunitensi.
Nel mirino dell'inchiesta sono finiti il direttore generale dell'ente bielorusso preposto al controllo dei voli, il suo vice e due dirigenti dei servizi segreti di Minsk, tutti in libertà in Bielorussia. Le accuse sono state annunciate dal distretto sud di New York, insieme al dipartimento di giustizia USA, l'FBI e il dipartimento di polizia di New York.
Il dirottamento aveva suscitato una vasta eco internazionale e riacceso i riflettori dei media sulle azioni antidemocratiche del regime del presidente Aleksandr Lukashenko, sostenuto dalla Russia di Vladimir Putin. A seguito dell'atterraggio forzato a Minsk del volo tra Atene e Vilnius erano scattate sanzioni occidentali contro la Bielorussia, imposte congiuntamente da Stati Uniti, Unione europea, Regno Unito e Canada.
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