[ad_1]
A Belarus opposition chief has been kidnapped, an opposition council stated, elevating fears that authorities authorities are stepping up efforts to crack down on the protest motion after practically a month of rallies in opposition to the disputed election of longtime chief Alexander Lukashenko.
The opposition’s Coordination Council stated the chief, Maria Kalesnikava, and two different members of the panel have been kidnapped by unknown individuals within the heart of Minsk, with out offering extra particulars. Earlier, the impartial Belarusian Tut.by information web site cited a witness saying that unidentified masked males had bundled Ms. Kalesnikava right into a minibus and drove her off early Monday.
The Belarusian Interior Ministry stated it had no info on the alleged detentions of opposition members, in accordance with Russian Interfax information company. The ministry didn’t reply to a request for remark.
The experiences drew condemnation from the European Union. “Arbitrary arrests and kidnappings on political grounds in Belarus, including this morning’s brutal actions against Andrei Yahorau, Irina Sukhiy & Maria Kalesnikova, are unacceptable,” EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell stated in a tweet, utilizing an alternate spelling of the opposition chief’s identify. “State authorities must stop intimidating citizens & violating their own laws and int. obligations.”
Ms. Kalesnikava has been instrumental in main the monthslong protests which have mushroomed into the largest problem to Mr. Lukashenko’s 26-year reign over the previous Soviet state, a detailed Russian ally.
On Sunday, tens of hundreds of individuals, many draped within the red-and-white flag of the opposition, marched in Minsk, demanding that Mr. Lukashenko step down. Security forces detained 633 protesters, Belarusian authorities stated.
Roughly 7,000 individuals have been detained for protesting after the election, and practically all have been subsequently launched. Human-rights researchers stated they’ve documented greater than 500 circumstances of individuals being crushed and tortured whereas detained by safety forces or at detention facilities.
Since then, authorities have employed much less violent strategies however a extra focused method, by detaining or harassing main opposition members.
“Instead of talking to the people of #Belarus, the outgoing leadership is trying cynically eliminate one by one,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius tweeted Monday about what he known as the kidnapping of Ms. Kalesnikava. “Stalinist NKVD methods are being applied in 21st century’s Europe,” he stated, referring to the Soviet safety company.
Ms. Kalesnikava is the final left in Belarus of a trio of girls that collectively challenged Mr. Lukashenko forward of the Aug. 9 vote.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was pressured to flee Belarus for neighboring Lithuania shortly after the election. Veronika Tsepkalo has additionally left Belarus; she had joined Ms. Tikhanovskaya’s staff after her husband, a former ambassador to the U.S., fled the nation out of concern of arrest.
Write to Georgi Kantchev at [email protected]
Copyright ©2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared within the September 8, 2020, print version as ‘Belarus Opposition Leader Seized.’
[ad_2]
Source hyperlink