{"id":162517,"date":"2025-10-31T18:39:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T15:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/162517\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"lukasenka-claims-blogger-pratasievic-was-working-for-minsk-during-arrest-in-2021","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/162517\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0141uka\u0161enka claims journalist Pratasievi\u010d was a Minsk spy during arrest in 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Video by Minsk-Novosti \/ Screenshot by Pozirk<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

October 31, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Journalist Raman Pratasievi\u010d worked for the Belarusian intelligence services at the time of his arrest in May 2021, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka has said during a working trip to the Viciebsk region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four years ago, Belarusian security forces cited a false bomb threat to divert Ryanair passenger aircraft en route from Athens to Vilnius and arrest Pratasievi\u010d and Russian national Sofiya Sapega. Both were convicted in Belarus, but pardoned and released later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI won\u2019t go into detail, but Pratasievi\u010d was an employee of our intelligence service,\u201d state-run media quoted the Belarusian ruler as saying today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid we have to arrest him? The question is, why didn\u2019t the Ryanair flight land in Vilnius, but instead turned around and flew to Minsk after receiving a call about some explosives on board?\u201d \u0141uka\u0161enka continued. \u201cYou were already over Vilnius \u2014 land there. But they turned around and flew back to Minsk. I said: \u2018Well, carry out the operation \u2014 he was working undercover with these fugitives [exiled opposition]. Carry it out properly. We have to arrest him.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka added that Minsk had no need to arrest Pratasievi\u010d at that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe came to Greece \u2014 he was sent there, reported everything we needed to the intelligence services, received his assignment and was flying back to where he worked via Vilnius,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were accused of arresting an opposition figure but . . . we didn\u2019t arrest an opposition figure \u2014 yet they still imposed sanctions on us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian national airline Bie\u0142avija was banned from the European Union after the forced landing incident, which has not been investigated properly because Belarusian officials denied international experts access to key evidence and witnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The International Civil Aviation Organization Council determined that the bomb threat against Ryanair Flight 4978 \u201cwas deliberately false and endangered its safety, and furthermore that the threat was communicated to the flight crew upon the instructions of senior government officials of Belarus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs neither a bomb nor evidence of its existence was found during pre-departure screening in Athens, Greece and after various searches of the aircraft in Belarus and Lithuania, it is considered that the bomb threat was deliberately false. Knowingly communicating false information which endangers the safety of an aircraft in flight is an offence under Article 1 (1) (e) of the Montr\u00e9al Convention,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka later dismissed the report as a fabrication, urging ICAO to \u201clet it slide\u201d and \u201cnot bother with the details.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also read: Belarus\u2019 agents plotted to frame journalist prior to Ryanair landing \u2013 report  <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

October 31, Pozirk. Journalist Raman Pratasievi\u010d worked for the Belarusian intelligence services at the time of his arrest in May 2021, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka has said during a working trip to the Viciebsk region. Four years ago, Belarusian security forces cited a false bomb threat to divert Ryanair passenger aircraft en route from Athens to Vilnius […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":64574,"template":"","rubric":[14],"class_list":["post-162517","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u0141uka\u0161enka claims journalist Pratasievi\u010d was a Minsk spy during arrest in 2021 | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"October 31, Pozirk. 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