Disinfo: The captain of the Ryanair flight decided to land in Minsk, because it was the nearest airport

Summary

According to international rules, Minsk turned out to be the nearest airport, and according to these same international rules, the captain of the flight decided to land in Minsk. It was the decision of the captain of the flight.

Disproof

Disinformation about the Ryanair flight 4978.

On Sunday, May 23, 2021, the Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was forced to turn back minutes before crossing the Lithuanian border and land in the Belarusian capital. The pretext for landing in Minsk was a false report about the bomb on board. At the moment when the plane changed course, it was closer to Vilnius airport than to Minsk. The plane was forced to land in the Belarusian capital by a Belarusian military aircraft. To land in the Belarusian capital was not the Ryanair pilots' decision.

Belarusian opposition journalist and a critic of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Roman Pratasevich was detained during a repeated security check of passengers. Belarusian authorities are persecuting him due to activities in reporting on the 2020 presidential election on his NEXTA Telegram channel used by the country's opposition. The Belarusian security service, KGB, has listed him as a terrorist (Read more about Pratasevich here).

The EU condemned Belarusian action against civil plane and the detention of Pratasevich. In a declaration on behalf of the EU on the forced diversion of Ryanair flight FR4978 to Minsk on 23 May 2021, the High Representative called for the immediate release of Roman Pratasevich. This was followed by a European Council statement, in which the EU leaders called for targeted individual and economic sanctions as well as to ban overflight of EU airspace by Belarusian airlines and prevent access to EU airports of flights operated by these.

The incident is investigated as an act of terrorism by Lithuanian authorities.

Read more similar disinformation cases alleging that Minsk forced Ryanair flight to land in full accordance with international law and that forcing down aircraft is common practice among special forces.

Go to search

publication/media

snanews.de (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 245
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 23/05/2021
  • Article language(s) German
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Belarus, Lithuania
  • Keywords: Alexander Lukashenko, State oppression, Ryanair Flight 4978
see more

Disinfo: The West uses the OPCW to manipulate facts

It has been possible to deprive Syria of its rights and privileges within the organisation through manipulation of facts, blackmail and intimidation from some countries. The United States, France, the United Kingdom and other countries are continually simmering plans to eliminate the government of Bashar al-Assad, whom they hate, from the political arena.

Russia and the Syrian government have repeatedly accused the OPCW of bias in investigating incidents in Syria and questioned the findings of the Technical Secretariat.

The Syrian authorities state they have never used chemical weapons against civilians or terrorists and that the country's chemical arsenal has been withdrawn from Syria under OPCW control.

Russia admitted back in April that the OPCW is preparing a new pseudo-investigation to accuse the Syrian authorities of using chemical weapons. The initiative launched by the West to deprive Syria of its rights within the OPCW is staged.

May 22, 2021
Disproof

Recurrent disinformation message about Chemical Weapons in the Syrian conflict and attempting to discredit the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

In an unprecedented vote on April 21 2021, member states of the global chemical weapons watchdog suspended Syria’s voting rights at the organisation as punishment for the repeated use of toxic gas by Damascus. The vote, which required a two-thirds majority to pass, marked the first time a member state of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has been hit with such a sanction.

Disinfo: Europe’s liberal globalist government leaders have banned Dante Alighieri

Europe’s liberal globalist government leaders have banned Dante Alighieri and removed his Divina Commedia from school programmes. Liberal globalists have discovered that Dante’s Divina Commedia is politically incorrect. Europe’s leaders hate Dante's ideal of a chivalric society led by an aristocratic Christian elite, of a Europe inspired by spirit, faith, honour and great love. This is why they have banned Dante. They accuse him of insufficient tolerance. Dante is the latest victim of liberalism's cultural purges. By rejecting Europe's roots liberals are destroying that which is most sacred in the European heart. Liberalism and globalisation are anti-Europe.

May 22, 2021
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about secret global elites and Western values.

There is no evidence to support the article’s claim that Dante Alighieri has been “banned” by European governments and that Dante and the Divina Commedia have been removed from European school programmes.

Disinfo: Moldova is just one of the stages of Romania's expansionist strategy in the east.

Recently, Romania's policy towards Moldova became more and more assertive. The ideological climate that is developing in Romania around the Moldovan issue is unhealthy, because it involves the forcible inclusion of Moldova into the "natural space of the Romanian nation." Moldova is just one of the stages of Romania's expansionist strategy in the east.

May 22, 2021
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Romania, questioning Moldova's integrity and sovereignty without any substance to document it.

Romania adheres to international law regarding state borders and has no territorial claims upon Moldova. The development of the relationship with the Republic of Moldova is a priority of Romania's foreign policy, based on the communion of history, language, traditions and culture and on supporting the European aspirations of the neighboring state.