Belarusian opposition leader calls for the release of an ally trapped on the border with Ukraine | World

• ‘Social change has already occurred, the Lukashenko government only resists the inevitable’, assesses the Brazilian ambassador to Belarus

Kolésnikova, who is part of the opposition “Coordination Council”, created to pave the way for a political transition in the country, is one of the few opponents who remain in the country. On Monday, witnesses said she had been abducted by unidentified men in a car, but authorities did not confirm her arrest.

On Tuesday, Border Guard spokesman Anton Bytchkovski told AFP that Kolesnikova was detained when trying to cross the Ukrainian border with two other members of the Coordination Council, Anton Rodenkov and Ivan Kravtsov. The two managed to enter the neighboring country.

“Maria Kolésnikova must be released immediately, as well as all the members of the Coordination Council [para a transferência pacífica do poder] and previously detained political prisoners, ”said Tikhanovskaya, exiled in Lithuania.

“You cannot hold people hostage. By kidnapping people in broad daylight, Lukashenko shows his weakness and fear,” Tijanóvskaya said through his press office on a Telegram channel.

The former presidential candidate, who denounces fraud in the August 9 elections, said the role of the Coordinating Council is to be a platform for negotiations. “There is no other solution and Lukashenko must understand that.”

In addition to Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who is in Lithuania, other leading opposition figures sought refuge abroad for fear of arrest.

Olga Kovalkova, who is on the Coordination Council, traveled to Poland after receiving threats from the Belarusian intelligence service.

Verónika Tsepkalo, campaign manager for her husband, Valeri Tsepkalo, joined him and left Belarus.

Two important opposition leaders, the jurist Maxim Znak and the writer Svetlana Alexievich, Nobel Prize Winner for Literature, are still in Belarus.

6th re-election contested

Alexander Lukashenko, 66, has ruled Belarus since 1994. The opposition accuses the government of defrauding the result of the August 9 vote in which he was reelected for the sixth time. Since then, the country has experienced an unprecedented wave of protests. So far, the head of state has ruled out any type of dialogue.

Since the demonstrations began, more than 7,000 people have been arrested. According to the Ministry of the Interior, on Monday (7), 363 people remained in provisional detention and awaited the analysis of their cases by the courts.

On Sunday (6), despite the large presence of the security forces, more than 100,000 people took to the streets in the center of the capital, Minsk, the fourth consecutive weekend of mobilization since the controversial re-election. Other demonstrations took place in cities like Grodno or Brest (west). More than 600 people were arrested.

European countries did not recognize the election results and are preparing sanctions against top Belarusian officials.

Lukashenko, who before the elections criticized Moscow’s attempts to “destabilize”, is now denouncing a Western “plot” and trying to get closer to Russia, his traditional ally and economic partner.