A day after tens of thousands of people gathered in protests against Lukashenko on Sunday in Belarus, Maria Kolesnikova, an opponent of Lukashenko, was reportedly kidnapped.
According to DW, unidentified men in black, wearing masks, reportedly grabbed her off-the-street on Monday, driving her away in a minibus.
But later, Belarus’ border committee said Kolesnikova was detained at the border early on Tuesday.
According to Belarusian state media, Kolesnikova is under arrest in Belarus.
The two staffers who also disappeared on Monday, Anton Rodnenkov and Ivan Kravtsov, later turned up in Kyiv. The Ukrainian government confirmed they passed a border check but said Kolesnikova did not.
Following the incident, the German Foreign Minister warned Belarus over its failure to change course in its brutal crackdown against protesters. He called for the immediate release of opposition figures kidnapped by unidentified masked men.
In addition, the government of the United Kingdom (UK) expressed concerns over the disappearance of Kolesnikova, who has not been seen since.
Protests on Sunday
Thousands of people gathered in Minsk to protest against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday.
Protesters demanded his resignation. Lukashenko had been controversially re-elected on 9 August, amidst accusations of massive vote-rigging.
