Militant aircraft deployed in Belarus for apprehending Nexta's founder.

In the heart of Belarus, the founder of the Telegram channel Nexta finds himself in hot water. The co-founder and former chief editor of Nexta, Roman Protasevich, has been detained in Minsk, as reported by the very channel he helped establish.

Roman found himself in an unusual predicament aboard a Ryanair plane from Athens to Vilnius, as the flight was rerouted to Minsk due to a bogus bomb threat. The threats were later debunked. Accoding to Ryanair, the fabricated threat was reported by Belarusian air traffic controllers, who also ordered the plane's redirection to Minsk. A MiG-29 fighter jet was scrambled to escort the plane at the request of the president.

As the plane prepared for takeoff, Nexta announced that Roman had noticed he was being tailed.

Lithuania's President, Gitanas Nauseda, who has offered Roman political asylum, labeled the plane's diversion as "unprecedented." Nauseda demanded Roman's immediate release and appealed to NATO and EU allies for a swift response, citing the escalating threat that the Belarusian regime poses to international civil aviation.

In November 2020, Roman and Stepan Putilo, another Nexta co-founder, were blacklisted by the Belarusian KGB as terrorists. The Investigative Committee of Belarus indicted them for inciting mass riots in Minsk and promoting hatred towards government officials and police. The Nexta channel and its logo have been labeled as extremist materials in Belarus.

Flash forward to recent times, Roman's whereabouts and ongoing status remains unclear, but earlier reports indicate he faced charges related to instigating unrest and numerous politically-motivated accusations. His arrest was part of Alexander Lukashenko's crackdown on opposition following the contested 2020 election. It's worth noting that, as of 2024-2025, it appears Roman has neither sought nor been granted asylum abroad.

The international community has condemned Belarus’s actions, considering it an example of transnational repression tactics employed by authoritarian regimes to silence critics worldwide. The EU and US have imposed sanctions, however, Lukashenko's alliance with Russia has protected his regime from significant diplomatic repercussions. The incident remains a focus of discussions regarding authoritarian regimes exploiting state power against diaspora activists, with recent initiatives, like a 2024 Council of Europe resolution, advocating for improved protections against such practices.

Roman Protasevich, the co-founder and former chief editor of the Telegram channel Nexta, was detained in Minsk, the heart of Belarus.
The plane Roman was aboard, a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius, was diverted to Minsk due to a fabricated bomb threat, said to have been reported by Belarusian air traffic controllers.
Lithuania's President, Gitanas Nauseda, who has offered Roman political asylum, said the plane's diversion was "unprecedented" and demanded Roman's immediate release.
In November 2020, Roman and Stepan Putilo, another Nexta co-founder, were blacklisted by the Belarusian KGB as terrorists, with the Nexta channel and its logo labeled as extremist materials in Belarus.
The international community has condemned Belarus’s actions, considering it an example of transnational repression tactics employed by authoritarian regimes to silence critics worldwide, with discussions focusing on authoritarian regimes exploiting state power against diaspora activists, including recent initiatives like a 2024 Council of Europe resolution advocating for improved protections against such practices.