MINSK, May 27 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Wednesday a journalist pulled off a plane that was forced to land in Minsk had been plotting a rebellion, and he accused the West of waging a hybrid war against him.
In his first public remarks since a Belarusian warplane intercepted a Ryanair flight on Sunday between European Union members Greece and Lithuania, he showed no hint of backing down from confrontation with countries that accuse him of air piracy.
"As we predicted, our ill-wishers from outside the country and from inside the country changed their methods of attack on the state," Lukashenko told parliament.
"They have crossed many red lines and have abandoned common sense and human morals," he said, referring to a "hybrid war" without giving any details.
Belarus has been subject to EU and U.S. sanctions since Lukashenko cracked down on pro-democracy protests after a disputed election last year. But his decision to intercept an international airliner in Belarusian airspace and arrest a 26-year-old dissident journalist has brought vows of much more serious action.
In his speech to parliament, Lukashenko gave no details of the "bloody rebellion" he accused journalist Roman Protasevich of planning.
Protasevich, whose social media feed from exile had been one of the last remaining independent sources of news about Belarus, was shown on state TV on Monday confessing to organising demonstrations.
But Belarus opposition figures dismissed the confession, seeing the video as evidence Protasevich had been tortured, an allegation repeated by his mother, Natalia.
"I simply plead with all the international community... please, world, stand up and help, I beg you so much because they will kill him," she told Polish broadcaster TVN.
Late on Tuesday, state TV broadcast a similar confession video of Sophia Sapega, a 23-year-old student arrested with Protasevich.
Germany led condemnation of Belarus over the videotapes, which Lukashenko's opponents said were recorded under coercion.
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Belarusian rulers' practice of parading their prisoners in public with so-called 'confessions," German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said.
Belarus denies it mistreats detainees. Rights groups have documented what they say are hundreds of cases of abuse and forced confessions since last year.
Europe’s aviation regulator issued a bulletin on Wednesday urging all airlines to avoid Belarus airspace for safety reasons, saying the forced diversion of the Ryanair flight had put in question its ability to provide safe skies.
Western powers are seeking ways to increase the isolation of Lukashenko, who has previously shrugged off Western sanctions, which mostly consisted of placing officials on black lists. The West is wary of upsetting Moscow, which regards Belarus as a strategically important buffer.
