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SWEDISH TEDDY BEAR DROP

HUMAN RIGHTS

Sweden to probe Belarus teddy-drop stunt

Prosecutors in Sweden announced on Tuesday that they had taken over the official investigation from Lithuania into a Swedish PR firm's stunt of dropping "pro free speech" teddy bears near the Belarusian capital.

Sweden to probe Belarus teddy-drop stunt

The Swedish Prosecution Authority (Riksåklagaren) announced that it would be taking over the case at the request of Lithuania.

“In accordance with international agreements between Sweden and Lithuania, there is a legal base for the Swedish side to handle the investigation, due to the fact that Swedish citizens are involved in the case,” the Riksåklagaren said in a statement.

“The fact that Sweden is taking over the prosecution means that a Swedish investigation will now be launched. It cannot be said where the investigation will lead at this point in time.”

The prosecutors will investigate a flight from July 4th, orchestrated by Swedish advertising agency Studio Total.

The plane dropped hundreds of teddy bears attached to little parachutes carrying signs calling for freedom of speech and human rights in Belarus, a move that infuriated the government in Minsk.

A border guard who was on duty at the time of the flight was jailed in February for two years for failing to stop the stuffed-animal assault.

The case will be handled at the Swedish Prosecutors Office (Internationella åklagarkammaren) in Stockholm.

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LUFTHANSA

UPDATE: Germany-Russia flights resume after tit-for-tat cancellations

Airline companies said flights between Germany and Russia had resumed Wednesday evening, after each country blocked the other's incoming flights as part of the fall-out from tensions over Belarus.

UPDATE: Germany-Russia flights resume after tit-for-tat cancellations
Lufthansa flights await takeoff at Munich Airport. Photo: Christof Stache/AFP

German airline Lufthansa told AFP that the Russian authorities had finally granted it clearance for passenger flights to Russia in June.

“That means Lufthansa flights to Moscow and Saint Petersburg can be operated as planned,” said a spokeswoman for the airline.

In Russia, Mikhail Poluboyarinov, chief executive of Aeroflot told the TASS news agency: “Everything is fine, we have received all the authorisations.”

And another Russian airline, S7, said it too had received clearance for its flights to Germany, the Ria Novosti agency reported.

Earlier Wednesday, Germany’s transport ministry said it had blocked flights operated by Russian airlines from arriving in its territory after Moscow failed to provide authorisations for Lufthansa.

Two Russia-bound Lufthansa flights due to depart earlier Wednesday from Germany had been cancelled because Russian authorities did not provide the necessary permits for them in time, the ministry said.

“Due to the reciprocal practice, the Federal Aviation Authority also did not issue any further permits for flights operated by Russian airlines as long as authorisations are pending on the Russian side,” it added.

Three Aeroflot flights were affected by the cancellations on Tuesday and another four on Wednesday, the ministry said.

“Once permits for Lufthansa flights are granted by the Russian site, the flights of Russian airlines will also be authorised,” it added.

Previous cancellations

Neither the ministry nor the airlines concerned mentioned the reason for the flights being blocked.

But some flights operated by European airlines including Air France and Austrian Airlines — a subsidiary of Lufthansa — were cancelled last week after Moscow rejected flight plans that would have skipped Belarusian airspace.

Lufthansa has confirmed that it is no longer flying over Belarus after the EU urged airlines to avoid the country’s airspace.

READ ALSO: Germany summons Belarus envoy over forced Ryanair landing

The EU’s advice came after the Belarusian regime forced the diversion of a Ryanair Athens-Vilnius plane to Minsk in order to arrest an opposition journalist on board.

Moscow last week said the cancellation of several European flights to Moscow was down to “technical reasons”.

Eurocontrol, which coordinates air traffic control in the EU, said flights between Europe and Russia “have permission to use defined air corridors.

“If one company changes these routes, there has to be prior agreement between the company concerned and Russia.”

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