Protasevich was accused of participating in extremist actions in the country.

The plane was flying over Belarusian territory, between Athens and Vilnius, at 14:00 hours, local time, when it interrupted the flight to descend in Minsk due to a bomb threat that was not confirmed later, Sputnik news agency reported.

However, the operator of the Vilnius International Airports said the aircraft made the emergency landing due to a conflict between a passenger and one of the crew members, although the reason was not specified.

According to the Belarusian Ministry of Defense, a MiG-29 fighter escorted the aircraft to the Minsk airport, TASS news agency reported.

The 123 passengers who were traveling on the aircraft were transferred to the transit area at the air terminal.

Belarusian opposition accused the Government of ‘hijacking’ the plane to arrest Protasevich.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded that the plane be immediately released, while the Belarusian charge d’affaires in Vilnius was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of that country.

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