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Belarusian Presidential Elections 2020
image copyrightTwitter / @AnnLinde
European diplomats have been photographed in the home of a Nobel Prize-winning writer in Belarus after she said masked men tried to enter.
Svetlana Alexievich called reporters at her home on Wednesday after the incident.
She is the last prominent member of the Opposition Coordination Council who is still in Belarus and who has not been detained.
The government has cracked down on dissent after protests spread across the country following a disputed election.
she resisted attempts by the authorities to expel her to Ukraine earlier this week.
And on Wednesday, witnesses reportedly saw Maxim Znak, a lawyer and another member of the Coordination Council, being led down a street in the capital Minsk by masked men in plain clothes.
Belarusian authorities said both were being held on suspicion of damaging national security and destabilizing the country.
Thousands of people have been arrested in the crackdown on the opposition and its supporters.
What’s the latest on Svetlana Alexievich?
“Harassment, arrests [and] The forced exile of the opposition … is a serious violation of peaceful protests, “he said. Happy to share this photo taken just now in Minsk.”
image copyrightEPAThe opposition created the committee in the wake of the elections to call for a peaceful transfer of power.
“We were not preparing a coup. We wanted to avoid a division in our country,” he wrote. “It was not him [council] who rebelled. The country rebelled. “
And what happened to Maxim Znak?
The 39-year-old, who previously worked as a lawyer for jailed presidential candidate Viktor Babaryko, was due to participate in a video call on Wednesday but was unable to dial.
When a colleague called him, Mr. Znak said someone had arrived and then hung up.
He then sent a text message with the word “masks” to a group, an activist told local media. This is believed to be a reference to the face masks used by Belarusian security services.
Later, witnesses reported seeing Mr. Znak taken away.
On Monday, Znak had told the BBC that he was concerned for her safety.
“I’m pretending to be relaxed,” he said. “It’s a professional habit, but actually I’m very worried and scared.”
Police have not yet commented on reports of his arrest.
What else is going on?
On Wednesday, exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya visited the Polish capital, Warsaw, where she delivered a speech at a university and called for the protests in Belarus to remain peaceful.
“I think it is impossible to fight against violence and to give violence,” he said.
He also called for the immediate release of Mr. Znak.
“The methods used by the alleged authorities are scandalous,” he said in a statement. “It is clear that Lukashenko is afraid of negotiations and is trying … to paralyze the work of the Coordination Council and intimidate its members.”
Tikhanovskaya, Lukashenko’s main opposition rival in last month’s elections, was forced into exile in neighboring Lithuania shortly after the vote.
She entered the race after her husband Sergei Tikhanovsky and another candidate were jailed.
Meanwhile, Mr. Lukashenko will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 14. The pair will discuss energy cooperation, regional conflicts and many other topics, reports Russia’s Ria news agency.
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