Poland charges 3 Belarusians who forced the diversion of a plane to Minsk in 2021

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Prosecutors in Poland say they have charged three Belarusian officials with using a ruse to divert a Poland-registered plane and thus violating the freedom of 132 people on board when in 2021 they ordered the plane carrying a dissident blogger to land in Minsk, leading to the arrest of Raman Pratasevich. The prosecutors said Friday that because the three Belarussians are not in Poland, they have issued a search warrant for them to be able to present the charges to them. They identified the three men as a former head of Belarus air navigation, an air controller in charge at Minsk airport, and the head of the Belarus State Security Committee. If convicted they can face up to five years in prison.