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Germany and the UK have demanded answers on the whereabouts of high-ranking Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova, who was reportedly abducted from the streets in central Minsk.
Kolesnikova was brought in along with members of the Coordination Council, which was created to seek a peaceful transfer of power amid widespread rejection of the elections that gave Alexander Lukashenko 80% of the vote.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab tweeted: “Seriously concerned for the welfare of Maria Kolesnikova in Belarus. 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.
Expressing concern about Kolesnikova’s fate, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas demanded “clarity on the whereabouts and release of all political prisoners in Belarus.”
The European Union also led calls for Belarus to immediately release more than 600 people arrested for protesting the controversial election result that prolonged the 26 years in power of strongman Lukashenko.
The Interior Ministry said 633 people were detained Sunday for illegal mass rallies, one of the largest waves of arrests since the early days of the demonstrations.
“The EU hopes that the Belarusian authorities will guarantee the immediate release of all those detained for political reasons before and after the falsified presidential elections on August 9,” said its chief diplomat, Josep Borrell. “The EU will impose sanctions on those responsible for violence, repression and falsification of electoral results.”
Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne called for the release of those detained, including members of the opposition and journalists. “The most recent arbitrary arrests of leading opposition voices and acts of repression are unacceptable,” he said.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Lukashenko’s main rival who left the country under pressure from the authorities and was granted refuge in EU member Lithuania, said in a statement: “The more they try to scare us, the more people will take to the streets.”
The disputed election has sparked demonstrations that have seen tens of thousands take to the streets of the former Soviet country of 9.5 million on Russia’s western borders, in an unprecedented challenge for Lukashenko.
On Sunday, more than 100,000 people marched to the president’s residence asking him to resign. Balaclava riot police arrested 633 people. Gangs of pro-government thugs beat up protesters on their way home.
On Monday, unidentified masked men are said to have taken Kolesnikova off the street and away in a minivan in what appears to be a selective attempt by the authorities to crack down on the protest movement. It is not clear who kidnapped Koselnikova. Her missing Coordination Council colleagues include Anton Rodnenkov, Ivan Kravtsov and Maxim Bogretsov. Her press team is also missing.
Rodnenkov reportedly disappeared about 40 minutes after confirming Koselnikova’s abduction. Russian news agency Interfax quoted Minsk police as saying they had not detained her.
Kolesnikova, 38, was the only one of the trio of women who spearheaded Tikhanovskaya’s campaign to stay in Belarus.
Before the elections, Kolesnikova had joined forces with the opposition presidential candidate Tikhanovskaya, who later fled to Lithuania, and with Veronika Tsepkalo, who has also left the country since then. Another prominent activist, Olga Kovalkova, arrived in Poland on Saturday saying that she had been told she would face arrest if she stayed in Belarus.
With Agence France-Presse
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