The White House announced on Friday that it is imposing sanctions on Belarus for forcing a European passenger plane to land in Minsk on Sunday to arrest an opposition passenger. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki stated in a detailed announcement of these punitive measures that the action taken by President Alexander Lukashenko's regime to send a fighter jet to force the Ryanair flight to divert from its international course and land at Minsk Airport, where Belarusian opposition journalist and activist Roman Protasevich was arrested, represents a "direct affront to international standards."
She explained that the sanctions are aimed at nine state-owned Belarusian companies and key members of Lukashenko's regime, noting that further sanctions against Minsk remain a possibility. The statement mentioned that the Treasury Department will explore ways to impose more sanctions on the pillars of Lukashenko's regime as well as on "those who support corruption, human rights violations, and assaults on democracy."
In addition to the sanctions, the White House issued a warning to Americans about the dangers of traveling to Belarus and urged U.S. airlines to "exercise utmost caution" if they decide to fly in Belarusian airspace. The White House statement confirmed that the U.S. Department of Justice, including the FBI, is investigating the incident in cooperation with European counterparts.
Psaki called on Lukashenko's regime to "allow a credible international investigation into the events of May 23, release all political prisoners, and engage in a comprehensive and genuine political dialogue with democratic opposition leaders and civil society groups" to pave the way for free and fair presidential elections.
Lukashenko prompted international outrage on Sunday when he dispatched a fighter jet to intercept a Ryanair plane traveling from Athens to Vilnius, which included opposition journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega among the passengers, both of whom were detained upon the plane's landing in Minsk. Minsk justified the forced landing by claiming a bomb threat on board, asserting that the arrest of the journalist and his companion was coincidental, a claim that Western leaders did not believe. Following the rerouting of the plane, EU countries decided to ban Belarusian-bound flights from their airspace and advised European airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace.
