The Belarus Interior Ministry said Monday that opposition activist Roman Protasevich, who was aboard the diverted Ryanair flight, is being held in the capital Minsk and dismissed unconfirmed reports that he was hospitalised. The passenger flight from Athens to Vilnius was diverted while in Belarusian airspace on Sunday over a supposed bomb threat, prompting a global outcry to Minsk's forced landing of the aircraft. Earlier, Belarussian media reported that Protasevich's mother received unconfirmed reports that her son was in hospital and in critical condition because of heart problems. "This information does not correspond with reality," the ministry said on its Telegram channel. It added that "the arrested person is in custody" and is being held in Detention Centre No 1 in central Minsk. "The administration of the institution has not received any complaints about his health," the ministry said. Together with co-founder Stepan Putilo, Protasevich until recently ran the Nexta telegram channels that helped mobilise protesters during the demonstrations that gripped ex-Soviet Belarus for months after a disputed election last August. Protesters demanded the resignation of strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for over two decades and in August secured a landslide victory in an election his opponents say was rigged. Last year, the 26-year-old journalist and Putilo -- who both fled to Europe -- were added to Belarus's list of "individuals involved in terrorist activity". In Minsk, they face charges of causing mass unrest, an offence punishable by up to 15 years in jail. tk-acl/bp