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Maria Kolesnikova, one of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition, was reportedly arrested on the night of Monday to Tuesday when she was trying to cross the border with Ukraine, according to what was told by Belarusian state television and reported by the Russian news agency. Tass. Kolesnikova disappeared on September 7 in Minsk and a witness told local media that she saw hooded men abduct her in the center of Minsk and take her away in a van. The two versions are apparently contradictory, but it is not yet known with certainty how things went.
Kolesnikova staff, who had confirmed that the woman was no longer available as of 10 a.m. on Monday, also reported the disappearance of two other members of the opposition coordination council, Anton Rodnenkov and Ivan Kravtsov. According to Belarusian television, Rodnenkov and Kravtsov managed to escape abroad.
On Monday, following the news of the disappearance, the police had denied the Russian agency Interfax the hypothesis that Kolesnikova had been arrested, while the Belarusian Interior Ministry had said AFP have no information about a possible arrest of Kolesnikova.
Meanwhile, Germany and the United Kingdom have asked the Belarusian government to clarify Kolesnikova’s whereabouts. British Chancellor Dominic Raab wrote on Twitter that he was very concerned about Kolesnikova’s health and called for an end to violence against protesters, the release of political prisoners and a dialogue with the opposition.
On Sunday in Minsk, 100,000 people protested for the fourth consecutive weekend against the outcome of the August 9 elections and called for the resignation of President Lukashenko. The Belarusian Interior Ministry said 633 people had been arrested.
Seriously concerned for the welfare of Maria Kolesnikova in #Belorussia. The Lukashenko regime must make his safe return its top priority. The regime must stop brutalizing protesters, release political prisoners, and begin dialogue with the opposition.
– Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) September 7, 2020
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas also called for the release of political prisoners and clarity on where Kolesnikova is. The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, called on Belarus “to guarantee the immediate release of all political detainees before and after the false presidential elections on August 9″ and announced that the Union ” it will impose sanctions on those responsible for violence, repression and falsification of electoral results. ” Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne also called for the release of politically motivated detainees, including members of the opposition and journalists. Champagne called Sunday’s arrests “arbitrary” and the acts of repression “unacceptable.”
Kolesnikova is considered the most important opposition political figure remaining in Belarus: Kolesnikova had supported the presidential candidacy of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who in the wake of the elections had vigorously contested the results that gave Lukashenko a great victory, accusing the president, in power since 1994, of fraud. Tikhanovskaya left Belarus and took refuge in Lithuania, as did Olga Kovalkova, another prominent opposition activist who fled to Poland last Saturday after being told that if she did not leave Belarus she would be arrested.
On August 31, Kolesnikova, a flutist and music teacher, announced that she would found a new opposition party together with supporters of Viktor Babariko, a former banker who had tried to run in the last presidential election against Lukashenko and that Kolesnikova had claimed, but was arrested before the elections.
The witness to the alleged kidnapping of Kolesnikova said Tut. By having met her in the center of Minsk and having recognized her. At first he had thought of reaching out to her and congratulating her on her work, but then she had given up. The woman said she later noticed a dark minivan parked not far from the museum and heard a phone fall to the ground. Then she would have seen the hooded men drag Kolesnikova into the minivan after picking up her phone. Tut. By She further confirmed that Kolesnikova does not answer the phone.
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