The Russian authorities did not give us this permit. The EU has already applied a ban on Belarus-registered carriers flying to and from European airports and urged European airlines to avoid Belarus airspace. Swiss authorities said they had no knowledge of a bomb threat on the Ryanair flight, from Athens to Vilnius, nor did they alert Belarusian authorities about it. A Russian embassy representative in Minsk met with Sapega's parents on Wednesday, the embassy press secretary Alexey Maskalev told Russian state news agency TASS Thursday. CNN investigations have found cases where Belarusian authorities have used torture against detained protesters.

Source: CNN May 27, 2021 11:26 UTC