MOSCOW, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Unidentified masked men detained prominent Belarusian protest leader Maria Kolesnikova in central Minsk on Monday morning and drove her off in a minivan, the Belarusian Tut.By media outlet cited a witness as saying.
Kolesnikova, a member of the opposition coordination council, is the last of three female politicians left inside Belarus who joined forces before an Aug. 9 presidential election to try to challenge veteran incumbent Alexander Lukashenko.
Kolesnikova’s abduction, if confirmed, comes as Belarusian authorities appear to be stepping up their efforts to try to halt the protests and obstruct the work of the opposition’s coordination council which they have accused of plotting to overthrow Lukashenko. Kolesnikova’s allies said they were checking the report of her detention, and that they were unable to get in touch with some other members of her team too and were concerned about their safety.
“Instead of talking to the people of Belarus, the outgoing leadership is trying cynically eliminate one by one,” he wrote on Twitter.
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