MINSK: Belarusian protest leader Maria Kolesnikova has been abducted by unidentified people in central Minsk, according to the Belarusian Tut.By media outlet, citing a witness.
The development came on Monday, hours after security forces arrested 633 protesters following Sunday’s mass rally. Police in Minsk said they had not arrested Kolesnikova, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.
Kolesnikova is the last one left in Belarus of three female politicians who joined forces before an 9 August presidential election to try to challenge long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Vocal critic
A vocal critic of Lukashenko, she has played an important role in the country’s post-election political crisis which has seen weeks of mass protests and strikes by people who accuse Lukashenko of rigging his own re-election, something he denies.
Before the vote, Kolesnikova teamed up with opposition presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya who later fled to Lithuania, and with Veronika Tsepkalo, who has also since left the country.
Another leading activist, Olga Kovalkova, arrived in Poland on Saturday, saying she had been told she would face arrest if she stayed in Belarus.