The pilot of the Vilnius-bound Ryanair flight was told there was a bomb on board and recommended to divert to Minsk, according to a transcript released by the aviation department of the Belarus transport ministry on Tuesday. 

The Ryanair aircraft travelling from Athens to Vilnius had opposition activist and blogger Roman Protasevich on board, who was arrested at Minsk airport after all passengers disembarked for a security check.

Also read: Who is Roman Protasevich, the opposition blogger arrested in Belarus?

The forced landing of the European passenger flight on Sunday sparked a global outcry with EU-based carriers cutting air links with Belarus and European leaders warning of fresh sanctions.

The aviation department of the Belarus transport ministry released a transcript of what it says was the conversation between Minsk airport and the Ryanair pilot.

“We have information from special services that you have bomb on board and it can be activated over Vilnius,” Minsk air traffic control said, recommending that the aircraft make a landing.

Also read: Assault on freedom of press: Biden lashes out at Belarus forced plane landing

The pilot then questioned the origin of the bomb threat, to which Minsk said airport security had received it via email.

On Monday, however, Belarus authorities said that the decision to land in Minsk was made independently by the pilot and that he had the option of going to either Poland or Ukraine.

They also said the bomb threat supposedly came from the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in an email addressed to Minsk airport. They reiterated this claim in Tuesday’s statement.

Also read: Cooperating and confessing: Arrested Belarussian blogger says in a video

The transport ministry also said Tuesday that representatives of international agencies were invited for “further consideration of the circumstances” of the incident.

The invited organisations are the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Air Transport Association, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and the EU and US Civil Aviation Authorities.

Roman Protasevich, 26, fled Belarus in 2019 to the EU from where he co-ran the Nexta Telegram channels, a key Belarus opposition media that helped mobilise protesters.

Belarusian state TV late on Monday broadcast a short video of Protasevich confirming that he was in prison in Minsk and “confessing” to charges of organising mass unrest.

His allies however say the video was made under pressure from authorities.