Belarus has been condemned for diverting a Ryanair plane bound for Lithuania to land in order to arrest an opposition journalist. 

EU leaders are considering sanctions, and the US state department has hit out at the act which saw Roman Protasevich taken away when passengers disembarked.

But why did such an incident occur? Here's everything you need to know

What happened and why was the Ryanair flight diverted?

A Ryanair flight travelling from Athens to the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius – was switched to Minsk following a bomb threat.

As a result, the plane landed in Minsk with passengers disembarking while safety checks were carried out. 

Opposition groups have claimed that no such threat existed however and it was all part of an operation by Belarus special services to “hijack” the flight so they could arrest activist and blogger Roman Protasevich.

The Herald:

After 7 hours on the tarmac many of the passengers got back on the plane, with authorities in Minsk with Roman Protasevich and his Russian girlfriend led out of the plane.

Officials later said no explosives had been found on board while the deputy air force commander said the plane’s crew made the decision to land in the Belarus capital.

READ MORE: West condemns plane's diversion to arrest Belarus journalist

According to reports in Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko had personally given the order.

Who is Roman Protasevich?

Roman Protasevich ran a popular messaging app that played a key role in helping organise protests against Belarus' authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko. He was on board the Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania when it was diverted to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, while flying over that country.

Belarusian flight controllers had warned the plane crew of an alleged bomb threat and ordered it to land in Minsk, and a Belarusian fighter jet was scrambled to escort the Ryanair airliner.

According to passengers on board the flight, the activist was "super-scared" and told fellow passengers he would face the death penalty.  Belarus remains the only European country that still executes prisoners.  

Mr Protasevich was a co-founder of the Nexta TV channel which was declared extremist by the authorities last year after helping to organise mass demonstrations against Mr Lukashenko.

He subsequently fled to Poland and currently faces charges which could carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years.

President Lukashenko, 66, won a disputed election last August and has ruled the country since 1994. Many opposition figures have been arrested, while others fled into exile since the election win.

READ MORE: Police and protesters clash after Belarus presidential vote

What has been said about the incident?

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority to request airlines avoid Belarusian airspace in order to keep passengers safe and has suspended Belarus’ national airline Belavia’s operating permit.

Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda called the incident a "state-sponsored terror act" and proposed banning Belarusian planes from European Union airports and "serious sanctions" against the Belarusian government.

Lithuania has advised its citizens against travel to Belarus, and urged those already in the country to leave.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he was “alarmed” by the actions of the Belarus government of President Alexander Lukashenko, who is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We are co-ordinating with our allies. This outlandish action by Lukashenko will have serious implications."

UK, shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said the Belarusian ambassador in London should be summoned.

She said the incident was “appalling”, telling Times Radio: “If I were the Foreign Secretary today I would be demanding that the ambassador comes to see me in order to demand the release of Roman Protasevich, the journalist who was arrested, and dozens of others who’ve been arrested and detained in similar circumstances over the last few weeks.

“We haven’t seen anything like this before of course, but what we have seen is those who criticise this regime rounded up and arrested, and we should be demanding the release of all of those political prisoners.”

Ms Nandy said the UK should consider blocking flights from Belavia Belarusian Airlines and also whether further sanctions are necessary.

“There has got to be repercussions for this because as I said earlier it tears up the international rules. It just simply cannot be allowed to stand,” she said.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary described the incident as a “state-sponsored hijacking” and said it was a frightening experience for the crew and passengers.

“Unfortunately I can’t say much about it because the EU authorities and Nato are dealing with it at the moment,” he told Newstalk.

“We’re debriefing the crews, our crews did a phenomenal job to get that aircraft and almost all the passengers out of Minsk after six hours.

“We have to do a detailed debrief today with the Nato and EU authorities.

“I think it’s very frightening for the crew, for the passengers who were held under armed guard, had their bags searched.

“It was clear it appears that the intent of the Russian authorities was to remove a journalist and his travelling companion.

“We believe there was also some KGB agents offloaded from the aircraft as well.”

Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, joined counterparts from the US, Ireland, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic in condemning the Belarus action as “an act of piracy” and calling for the suspension of all overflights.

“This act of state terror and kidnapping is a threat to all those who travel in Europe and beyond. It cannot be allowed to stand,” they said in a joint statement.

Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called on the International Civil Aviation Organisation to open an investigation into what happened.

“It is absolutely obvious that this is an operation by the special services to hijack an aircraft in order to detain activist and blogger Roman Protasevich,” she said in a statement.

“Not a single person who flies over Belarus can be sure of his safety.”

There has been widespread political condemnation from the US, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic, with many calling for the suspension of all overflights.