Accusation of regime servants of air piracy in the "Protasevich case" in the USA: explaining the legal and political consequences
A few days ago, US Attorney Dennis Williams handed over to US District Judge Paul Engelmeier a case prepared on the basis of an FBI investigation regarding the forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Minsk.
The NAM lawyer Mikhail Kirilyuk spoke in a commentary to Belsat about the legal and political consequences of the accusation filed in the United States. We decided to partially retell the relevant material in the cards.
For more information about the investigation and the conclusions of the Americans (and not only), we recommend that you refer to this article on the Belsat website or this video on the publication’s YouTube channel.
Context
In May 2021, the regime forced a Ryanair civilian plane with Roman Protasevich on board to land, we are sure that each of you knows this story well. Today we are talking about bringing those responsible for the incident to justice.
Now
More than one investigation is underway on the incident, but the United States has advanced the farthest!
The US authorities directly accused Belaeronavigatsia CEO Leonid Chur and his deputy Oleg Kozyuchits, as well as two KGB officers, of conspiracy to commit air piracy.
And what does it mean?
According to the FBI investigators and the prosecutor, the defendants deliberately and by prior agreement lied about the bomb on board — to land the liner and detain Protasevich. And in doing so, they endangered more than a hundred lives. In addition, the accused organized the concealment of traces of the crime. Punishment for such an act: from 20 years in prison to life imprisonment.
This accusation already has significant consequences: both legal and political.
What is it like?
The filed charge already gives the right to summon the accused to the US court, and in case of failure to appear, to put them on the wanted list. This in itself creates significant inconvenience and risks for the minions of the regime. And when receiving orders for new criminal acts, all accomplices of the regime will take into account that they can really be put on the international wanted list, and this is for life.
Even after the change of power in Belarus, the prosecution and the wanted list in the United States will not be dropped.
Implications for the regime
In addition, the American example may well influence the acceleration of similar processes in the "Protasevich case" in other countries. The specialists and experts responsible for these cases can easily use the arguments from which they proceeded when bringing charges in the United States.
Yes, even the recognition in the United States of a forced landing of an aircraft as an act of piracy does not automatically mean the recognition of the Lukashenko regime as a terrorist, as well as the dictator himself as a terrorist.
But bringing the case in the United States to the indictment of Belarusian officials of this level is one of the most serious legal actions against the Lukashenka regime in its entire history.
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