EU accuses Minsk of playing ‘Russian roulette’ with journalist detention

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Written by northsouth

Category: Europe

Published: 25 May 2021

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BRUSSELS - European Council president Charles Michel said Minsk was playing “Russian roulette” after a Ryanair flight was diverted and a prominent critic arrested in Belarus.

Journalist Roman Protasevich was on board a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius on Sunday when it was forced to change course to head for the Belarussian capital after a reported bomb scare, escorted by a MiG fighter jet.

He was arrested and, in a video released by Belarusian authorities on Monday evening, appeared to admit he was involved in organising mass protests in Minsk last year.

The European Union and the UK have issued new sanctions against Belarus in light of the incident, with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps instructing the Civil Aviation Authority to request airlines avoid Belarusian air space “to keep passengers safe”.

He also suspended the operating permit for Belavia, the country’s state-owned airline, while EU leaders have called on member states to do similar.

Speaking in the early hours of Tuesday in Brussels, Mr Michel said the events were “unacceptable, shocking and scandalous”.

“We will not tolerate that they play Russian roulette with the lives of innocent civilians,” he added.

Mr Michel also called for the release of Mr Protasevich – a critic of Belarussian president Alexander Lukashenko – and his Russian girlfriend Sofia Sapega.

Mr Lukashenko has been president of Belarus since the post was established in 1994 and won re-election for a sixth time in 2020 with 80% of the vote, in a ballot deemed “neither free nor fair” by the EU.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the incident was a “hijacking”.

She said: “This is an attack on democracy. This is an attack on freedom of expression.

“And this is an attack on European sovereignty. And this outrageous behaviour needs a strong answer.”

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said it was “very difficult to believe” the seizure of Mr Protasevich from the flight could have taken place “without at least the acquiescence of the authorities in Moscow”.

He said that although the situation was not yet clear, the relationship between Minsk and Moscow suggested Russian leaders may have been aware of the plans in advance.

In the Commons on Monday, he said: “It’s very difficult to believe that this kind of action could have been taken without at least the acquiescence of the authorities in Moscow, but, as I say, it’s unclear as yet.”

Speaking to reporters later, he was asked why he believed it could not have taken place without Russia being aware, and Mr Raab replied: “Based on all the circumstances. But we don’t know – it is just the proximity of the relationship between Minsk and Moscow.”

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said the incident was a “state-sponsored hijacking” and claimed agents from Russia’s KGB were on board the flight.

“It was clear it appears that the intent of the Russian authorities was to remove a journalist and his travelling companion. We believe there was also some KGB agents offloaded from the aircraft as well,” he said.

Prince William: BBC fuelled my mother's paranoia

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Written by northsouth

Category: Europe

Published: 21 May 2021

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LONDON - In an unprecedented and rare personal statement and blistering attack on the BBC, Prince William said it brought him "indescribable sadness" that Martin Bashir's interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, had "contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation" in her final years.

The royal spoke out after the publication of a report which concluded that the former Panorama reporter had used “deceitful behaviour” to induce Diana, Princess of Wales, to agree to the 1995 interview.

The Duke of Cambridge blamed the "failures" of BBC bosses for the harm done to his mother, after an inquiry concluded Bashir used "deceitful behaviour" in a "serious breach" of the broadcaster's guidelines to secure the Panorama interview in 1995.

His brother Prince Harry went further by directly linking the interview to their mother's death.

After a six-month inquiry, retired judge Lord Dyson accused the BBC of effectively covering up Bashir's wrongdoing.

Within weeks of the bombshell Panorama interview, concern began to grow in the BBC that Bashir may have hoodwinked the Princess into taking part.

The 127-page report, which was released this afternoon, concluded that Bashir "deceived and induced" Earl Spencer, the brother of Princess Diana, into arranging the interview, in which Diana famously declared that "there were three of us in this marriage".

The BBC's current director-general Tim Davie has said the corporation accepts "in full" the findings of Lord Dyson's report. Bashir apologised in a statement but maintained he remains "immensely proud of that interview".

Report on Diana’s Princess Diana Interview ‘reporter used deceitful methods’

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Written by northsouth

Category: Europe

Published: 20 May 2021

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LONDON - An investigation into how the BBC and Martin Bashir landed the Panorama interview with Diana, Princess of Wales will be published today and reportedly conclude the journalist used deceitful methods.

Lord Dyson, the former master of the rolls and head of civil justice, was appointed to look into the circumstances surrounding the explosive 1995 interview, which famously featured Diana saying: “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”

According to the Daily Telegraph, the report has concluded Bashir deployed deceitful methods in securing the interview, in breach of BBC editorial rules.

It was previously alleged that Bashir mocked up fake bank statements and showed them to Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, to gain access to the princess.

Richard Ayre, the BBC’s controller of editorial policy in 1995, told the Telegraph he had informed Lord Dyson in evidence that Bashir would have breached guidelines in mocking up the statements and showing them to Earl Spencer.

He said: “The use of deceit in making factual programmes would have been permissible only in the case of investigating serious crime… and where prima facie evidence of the guilt of that person being investigated had already been obtained.

“Those circumstances clearly don’t apply to an interview with the Princess of Wales.”

The investigation was launched after Earl Spencer alleged Bashir showed him fake financial documents relating to his sister’s former private secretary Patrick Jephson, and another former royal household member, and told outlandish and untrue stories about the royal family to gain access to the princess.

Lord Dyson has been considering if the steps taken by the BBC and Bashir were appropriate and to what extent those actions influenced Diana’s decision to give an interview.

TV watchdog Ofcom has said previously it will not launch its own investigation into the BBC Panorama controversy, but will follow the independent inquiry “closely”.

Diana’s son the Duke of Cambridge welcomed the launch of the investigation late last year, saying it “should help establish the truth behind the actions” that led to the programme.

His brother the Duke of Sussex reportedly also supported the inquiry.

The BBC previously delayed the broadcast of a Panorama investigation into the interview.

The programme was expected to air on BBC One on Monday but was postponed due to a “significant duty of care issue”, according to the broadcaster.

Bashir, who was the BBC News religion editor, left the corporation last week on health grounds.

He has been seriously unwell with Covid-19 related complications