Belarusian critics of Alexander Lukashenko who have fled to neighboring countries have come to the terrifying conclusion that nowhere is safe for them and the authoritarian ruler will stop at little to get to them.
Nine months into her exile, opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya saw how he brazenly defied international law to force a commercial plane to land in Minsk and arrest Raman Pratasevich, a reporter despised by the regime who like her had sought refuge in Lithuania.
"Exactly one week ago I took the same flight from Athens,” she told reporters on Monday. "I could be in Raman’s place right now. From now on no person who flies over Belarusian airspace is guaranteed basic safety.”