In Belarus, the well-known opposition activist Maxim Snak is said to have been taken away by masked men.

Svetlana Tichanovskaya demands that his disappearance be clarified.

According to his supporters, the Belarusian opposition politician and lawyer Maxime Snak has apparently been arrested.

As the press service of the opposition Coordination Council announced in the Telegram news service, Snak wanted to take part in a video conference on Wednesday morning, but stayed away.

The group posted a photo of Snak being led away by masked men.
There was initially no confirmation from the authorities.
 

  
The lawyer was one of the last two members of the Coordination Council still in the country and still at liberty.

The council opposes the authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko and wants to achieve a peaceful change of power.

The Belarusian authorities are taking action against the body and most of its members have been arrested or forced to leave.

According to the opposition, the opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova was kidnapped by strangers in Minsk on Monday.

On Tuesday eyewitnesses said she had resisted deportation to Ukraine at the border;

According to the Belarusian border guard, she is currently “in custody”.

Opposition activist Svetlana Tichanovskaya, who lives in exile in Lithuania, condemned the authorities’ actions on social media.

“The methods of so-called power are outrageous,” said Tichanovskaya.

The disappearance of Snak, like the other cases, should be cleared up immediately.

“Lukashenko is undoubtedly afraid of negotiations and is trying to paralyze the work of the council and intimidate its members.”

After the controversial presidential election in August, head of state Lukashenko had himself declared the winner with more than 80 percent of the vote.

The opposition, however, considers Tichanovskaya to be the real winner of the election.

The vote is criticized internationally as grossly falsified.
There have been daily protests in Belarus since the election.

© 2020 Zeit