Belarus opposition figure detained at Ukraine border

MINSK AFP, 8 Sept, 2020-  Belarus said Tuesday that a leading opposition figure, Maria Kolesnikova, had been detained while trying to cross the Ukrainian border, but Kiev said she was being held after resisting a forced deportation.   

Kolesnikova played a major role in the campaign of opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who claimed victory over President Alexander Lukashenko in a disputed election last month, and has since spoken at huge protests against his rule.   

Tikhanovskaya on Tuesday called for Kolesnikova to be “freed immediately.” “By kidnapping people in broad daylight, Lukashenko is showing his weakness and fear,” she said in a statement from Lithuania, where she has taken refuge.   

Anton Bychkovsky, a spokesman for the State Border Committee, told AFP that Kolesnikova was being held and “an investigation is under way to legally assess the situation”.   
The high-profile activist went missing on Monday, with witnesses saying she was bundled into a minibus on the street in the capital Minsk.   

Kolesnikova’s detention removes one of the strongest opposition speakers who had insisted she would not leave Belarus voluntarily.