When the plane flew over Belarus, Minsk forced it to land due to a so-called “bomb threat”. Immediately after landing, the Belarusian Protasevich was arrested for his role in the mass protests in 2020. His girlfriend was also arrested.
Protasevich, along with two other dissidents, was charged with organizing mass riots, inciting social hatred and insulting the country’s president. He was editor-in-chief of Nexta Live which opposes Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian authoritarian leader.
In 2020, Belarus was rocked by unprecedented street protests after fraudulent presidential elections that Lukashenko claimed to have won. Nexta Live not only reported on the demonstrations, but also actively coordinated them.