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Ahead of a preplanned EU leaders’ summit on May 24, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen urged a toughening of the bloc’s existing sanctions against Belarus imposed, Radio Liberty reported. 

“The outrageous and illegal behaviour of the regime in Belarus will have consequences. Those responsible for the #Ryanair hijacking must be sanctioned,” von der Leyen wrote on May 23 in a late-night tweet.

Raman Pratasevich, an opposition activist and journalist who faces charges in Belarus that could bring 15 years in prison, was aboard the Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece, to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius when it changed course between the two EU members to head for Minsk.

Belarusian state news agency BelTA reported that Lukashenka had personally ordered a MiG-29 fighter jet to escort the Ryanair plane to land in Minsk, ostensibly due to a bomb threat. Officials later said no explosives were found on the plane.

Pratasevich and his girlfriend were taken away by police shortly after the Ryanair flight landed in the Belarusian capital. Ryanair said the flight arrived safely in Vilnius on May 23 after a delay in Minsk of several hours.

EU leaders will also call for an investigation by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which earlier described the incident as a possible violation of international air travel rules under the Chicago Convention.

The EU was already preparing a fourth round of sanctions before the Ryanair event, including further asset freezes and visa bans on individuals and entities over the crackdown on the opposition and what the West and opposition deem a fraudulent presidential election last August.