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Belarusian opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova has reportedly been detained, but it is not clear who did so. The website tut.by reported on Monday that she had been arrested in central Minsk by unidentified people. Citing the testimony of an eyewitness, the report says that Kolesnikova was taken away in a car. The AFP news agency also reported, with reference to opposition supporters, that witnesses had observed how Kolesnikova had been packed up by men in black and put into a minibus that morning. She no longer answers calls.
According to the Russian Interfax agency, the Belarusian police said they had not arrested Kolesnikova. Police are verifying whether Kolesnikova has been abducted, the RIA news agency reported.
Also, two employees are no longer available
The press service of the Coordination Council of the Movement for Democracy announced that Kolesnikova’s colleagues had no contact with her. Furthermore, her employee Ivan Kravzov and her spokesman Anton Rodnenkow are no longer available.
The 38-year-old is one of the most important members of the opposition opposing the controversial head of state Alexander Lukashenko (read a SPIEGEL interview with Kolesnikova from August here). Several other members of the Coordination Council had previously been detained, abandoned or forced to leave, including presidential candidate Svetlana Tichanovskaya. He fled to the EU country Lithuania after the elections.
In the election campaign, Kolesnikova appeared together with Tichanowskaya and Weronika Zepkalo. Previously, she worked as a campaign manager for the candidacy of former banker Viktor Babaryko, who is now in prison.
According to the Interior Ministry, a total of 633 people were arrested in recent nationwide protests on Sunday. Around 360 protesters remain in detention. Tens of thousands of people participated in the demonstrations. The leadership led by President Alexander Lukashenko is cracking down on protesters, including on Sunday: Videos showed uniformed people following participants on the streets. In addition, the emergency services are said to have used tear gas.
The background to the protests is the presidential elections of more than four weeks ago. Lukashenko reportedly received 80.1 percent of the vote and declared himself the winner. However, the opposition considers Svetlana Tichanovskaya to be the real winner. The vote is criticized internationally for being grossly falsified: the EU, the US and other countries do not recognize the officially mentioned result.
