US Charges 4 Belarusian Officials With Piracy For Diverting Ryanair Flight - Justice Dept.

US Charges 4 Belarusian Officials With Piracy for Diverting Ryanair Flight - Justice Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2022) The United States has charged four Belarusian government officials with aircraft piracy for diverting a Ryanair flight in May of 2021 with a pro-opposition journalist Roman Protasevich onboard, the US Justice Department said in a press release.

"(The US authorities) announced the filing of a one-count indictment charging LEONID MIKALAEVICH CHURO, the Director General of Belaeronavigatsia Republican Unitary Air Navigation Services Enterprise; OLEG KAZYUCHITS, the Deputy Director General of Belaeronavigatsia; and two officers of the Belarusian state security services, ANDREY ANATOLIEVICH LNU and FNU LNU, with conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy for engineering the diversion of Ryanair Flight 4978," the release said on Thursday.

The Justice Department said in the release that all the defendants are currently based in Belarus and remain at large.