EU considers response to Belarus opposition figure’s arrest after plane diverted

A woman holds a poster reading ‘where is Roman Protasevich?!’ (AP)

European Union leaders are considering a joint response to Belarus’ diversion of a Ryanair plane travelling between EU member nations in order to arrest a prominent opposition journalist.

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