(Montreal) The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the UN agency responsible for investigating the diversion of a Ryanair flight by Belarus, announced on Tuesday that it had completed its investigation, once again pointing the finger at the “illegal” action of this country in the case.
Posted at 7:07 p.m.
On May 23, 2021, Ryanair flight FR4978 linking Greece to Lithuania was forced to land in Minsk and the Belarusian authorities arrested a dissident journalist, Roman Protassevich, and his partner Sofia Sapega who were on board.
« The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) concluded its discussions yesterday […] by condemning the actions of the government of Belarus which has committed an act of illegal interference, ”wrote in a press release the agency based in Montreal.
The investigation was extended in early January to establish “missing facts” and examine new information. ICAO notably studied an interview and audio recordings of the Minsk air traffic controller who was following this flight.
The agency recalls that the bomb threat at the origin of the diversion was “deliberately false”, which it had already concluded last January. She adds that the threat “was communicated to the crew on the instructions of senior Belarusian officials”.
According to the document, the representative of the Council for Russia contested, on behalf of this State, the fact that “Belarus is identified as being at the origin of this illegal interference”.
It is specified that the council, on which sit 36 States, asked its president to transmit this report of investigation to the secretary general of the UN, Antonio Guterres.
ICAO’s mission is to enact the rules governing civil air transport, but it has no power of sanctions.
In the event of a proven violation of international rules, its role consists of “helping countries that wish to do so to lead discussions, to pronounce sentences, to apply sanctions, etc., in accordance with the Chicago Convention”, recalls the institution. on his site.
During the time of this investigation, which began four days after the hijacking of the plane, the case also continued on the legal level.
At the end of June, the young Russian Sofia Sapega asked to be pardoned by President Alexander Lukashenko after being sentenced to six years in prison by a Belarusian court for “incitement to social hatred” and “illegal collection of personal data”.
Mr. Protassevich is currently under house arrest pending trial.