At a lengthy press conference in the Ukrainian capital, activists Ivan Krevtsov and Anton Rodnenkov gave a version of their disappearance. It began with a trip to investigate the safety of her colleague Maria Kolesnikova, a leading anti-government activist detained by Belarus Border Control.
All three are members of the Belarus Coordinating Council, the country’s main political opposition group, which seeks to coordinate a peaceful transition of power following the disputed August elections.
Rodnenkov said Kravatsov went to Kolesnikova’s home in Minsk on Monday after hearing reports of her and Rose’s disappearance.
When the two men reached his house, however, they were pushed into the bus by strangers and interrogated, they told reporters. They were later placed separately in a convoy of five-six cars, including Kravatsov’s BMW, and operated on the Belarusian border with Ukraine.
Rodnenkov said the convoy was stuck in no-man land between the two borders. He said he was then asked to sit in Kravatsov’s car – where he saw Kravatsov sitting in the passenger seat – and saw that all three passports were in the vehicle.
“At that moment Maria appeared,” Rodnenkov said.
Kolesnikova was “forcibly pushed” into the back seat of the car with him, but he resisted being sent to Ukraine, he said. Seeing her passport, she tore it to pieces and “threw it out the window at strangers around the car,” Rodnenkov said.
Kolesnikova then climbed out of the car window and headed back to the Belarusian border, he said. Belarusian officials confirmed on state television on Tuesday that he had been detained by border controls.
Meanwhile, Rodnenkov “hit the gas pedal” and fired for Ukraine.
According to the men, Belarusian officers chased and tried to block their way by bus, but they managed to reach the security on the Ukrainian side of the border where they were “greeted by a very friendly and discreet serviceman of the Ukrainian border control.”
CNN will not be able to confirm all the details of their experience. However, Belarusian Border Control confirmed that Krevtsov and Rodnenkov entered Ukraine at 4 am on Tuesday.
They are currently the last people to report seeing Kolesnikova since Monday.
U.S. ‘Deeply concerned’ over abduction
Reports of the three missing have come out this week after the fourth consecutive week of anti-government protests in the country. Unrest erupted in Belarus shortly after President Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in the Alexander Gust election, which observers have criticized for not being fair or justified.
Lukashenko, who has ruled for 26 years and is often described as Europe’s ultimate dictator, remains infamous despite his mass performances.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement released Tuesday evening that the UK was “concerned” by “reported abductions of Kolesnikova, Rodenenkou and Krautsuu” on the Ukrainian border and “attempted forced expulsions” on the Ukrainian border.
He said the U.S. Is considering additional targeted sanctions and insists that Belarusian authorities are responsible for protecting Kolesnikova and “all those detained unjustly.”
“We call on the Belarusian authorities to end the violence against their own people, release all those detained unjustly, including US citizen Vitaly Shakliarov, and engage in meaningful dialogue with genuine representatives of Belarusian society,” he said.
The European Union on Monday condemned the detention of Kolesnikova and all Belarusian political activists and criticized the “intimidation” of Belarusian citizens.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Joseph Borrell has called for the release of all political activists, including Kolesnikova and anti-government protesters arrested after a peaceful march on Sunday.
“It is clear that state officials in Belarus continue to increasingly illegally intimidate or threaten its citizens and brutally violate both their own domestic laws and international obligations.”
Russia, on the other hand, has refused to acknowledge the presence of political prisoners in Belarus.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that “we do not yet have detailed information about what happened to (Maria Kolesnikova),” and warned against jumping on the findings.
“Overall, we are not ready to accept the existence of political prisoners in Belarus,” Peskov said.
Report contributed by Anna Chernova in Moscow.
.
