Professor Marco Roscini, Professor of International Law, was quoted in an article by France24 about the legal implications of the Belarus forced flight diversion of a plane to arrest journalist Roman Protasevich.
Discussing which international laws were broken by the Belarus flight diversion, Professor Roscini said: “The interception by the military jet and the redirection of the plane to a most distant airport could have endangered the safety of the crew and passengers – this will have to be established by an impartial investigation. Appendix 2 of the Chicago Convention also states that interception should be undertaken only as a last resort, so the question is whether the Belarusian authorities first requested the plane to land (which I am not sure is the case) or whether they sent the military jet straight away.”
Talking about the extent to which this sets a worrying precedent for dissidents travelling over the airspace of countries hostile to them, he added: “It does set a worrying precedent for dissidents – that’s why it is important that Belarus faces the legal consequences of committing the wrongful act and provides full reparation.”
Read the full article on the France24 website.
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