Allies call on Belarus to respect fundamental human rights and freedoms.
NATO has called on the Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally free Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, who is a citizen of Russia.
"The North Atlantic Council strongly condemns the forced diversion to Minsk, Belarus of a Ryanair flight between Athens and Vilnius on 23 May, as well as the removal from the diverted aircraft and arrest of Raman Pratasevich [Roman Protasevich], a prominent Belarusian journalist travelling on board, and Sofia Sapega," NATO said in a statement on Belarus on May 26, 2021.
According to NATO, this unacceptable act seriously violated the norms governing civil aviation and endangered the lives of the passengers and crew.
"We support calls for an urgent independent investigation, including by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). We support measures taken by Allies individually and collectively in response to this incident," the statement said.
According to the statement, the detention of Protasevich is an affront to the principles of political dissent and freedom of the press.
"Belarus must immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Pratasevich [Protasevich] and Ms. Sapega. NATO Allies call on Belarus to respect fundamental human rights and freedoms, and to abide by the rules-based international order," the statement said.
Allies stand in solidarity with Latvia following the unjustified expulsion of Latvian diplomats.
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