GD Refers Ryanair flight FR4978 incident to ICC

On 26 May 2021, GD - together with IPHR, Norwegian Helsinki Committee and Truth Hounds - referred the Ryanair flight FR4978 incident to the International Criminal Court.

Mr Protosevich and Ms Sapega were arbitrarily detained aboard the flight without justification under international law and their detention is part of the widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population in Belarus, including some 33,000 other unlawful detentions.

The incident falls within the ICC's jurisdiction as the initial detention took place aboard a Polish-registered aircraft, and Article 12(2)(a) of the Rome Statute provides for the Court's jurisdiction where a crime is committed aboard a State Party registered aircraft.

The filing parties requested the ICC Prosecutor to investigate this incident as a matter of urgency.

The full communication can be found here