by kleinbl00

The forcing down of the airplane, traveling between two European capitals before a MiG-29 fighter escorted it to Minsk, drew condemnation from European leaders.

Roman Protasevich, who ran the popular opposition social media Telegram channel Nexta from outside of Belarus, was detained upon the plane’s landing. The flight was headed to Vilnius, Lithuania.

He faces up to 15 years in prison after he and the creator of Nexta, which exposed Belarusian police brutality during anti-government demonstrations last year, were added to a list of individuals purportedly involved in terrorist activities in November. Nexta and its sister channel, Nexta Live, have close to 2 million subscribers.

LET THE SANCTIONS BEGIN