A bomb threat cited by Belarusian authorities as the reason for forcing a Ryanair jetliner carrying a dissident journalist to land in Minsk was sent after the plane was diverted, privacy-focused email provider Proton Technologies AG said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the London-based research group Dossier Center published what it said was an email carrying the purported Hamas threat. The email was sent 24 minutes after the Belarusian authorities warned the plane’s crew there was a bomb threat, it showed.
The email’s timing was first reported by the Daily Beast and Newlines magazine.
Proton declined to comment on specifics of the message but confirmed it was sent after the plane was diverted.
“We haven’t seen credible evidence that the Belarusian claims are true,” the Swiss company said in a statement. “We will support European authorities in their investigations upon receiving a legal request.”
Hamas denied having any knowledge or connection to any bomb threat, and European leaders have accused Belarus of stat-sponsored piracy.
