Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Michael O’Leary shared the latest information on the Ryanair plane hijacked by the regime. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya urged Mr. O’Leary to publicly support the demands of Belarusians to further investigate the incident, which was a planned operation to arrest an opponent.
They also discussed the US indictment against two KGB officers and two Belaeronavigatsia employees who are charged with conspiracy to commit an act of aircraft piracy.
The CEO of Ryanair agreed that Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega, who were detained in the aftermath of the incident, must be released, along with everyone who is persecuted on political grounds. In conclusion, Mr. O'Leary expressed support for Belarusians and his interest in establishing Ryanair flights in the new Belarus.
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Earlier this week, Sviatlana Tsikhanouksaya addressed a letter to the President of the ICAO Council urging to:
– append to the ICAO report the information regarding the regime’s attempts to withhold evidence, including the testimony given to the Polish authorities by Aleh Halehau, who was on duty as a traffic controller at the Minsk Airport when the plane was forced to land;
– forward the report to the chairman of the UN Security Council, as the incident was a threat to international peace and security.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also contacted the delegations of the ICAO Сouncil member states, including Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, the UK, the US, and others. The consultations are needed for these delegations to advocate forwarding the report to the chairman of the UN Security Council at the ICAO Council debate on January 31.
