Sinn Féin spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Defence John Brady TD has described the hijacking of a Ryanair flight in order to facilitate the arrest of a journalist as an absolute outrage, and one that cannot go unpunished.

The Wicklow TD said:

“This outrage is an act of outright thuggery.

“It is so outrageous that reports read like something from an outlandish Cold War era spy thriller – a European country hijacks an aircraft from another European country in mid air, forcing it to land in order to arrest a journalist critical of the government.

“It is an act of international piracy, and I believe that we need to be calling for the EU to impose the strongest measures available as soon as possible.

“It is critically important that the international community send a message that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated.

“I believe that the Irish government has a role on the UN Security Council to provide a bridge that will link up the response of the EU with that of the Security Council.”