Belarusian authorities are holding Belarusian opposition leader Kolesnikova after a failed attempt to expel her to Ukraine following her abduction on Sept. 7. Ukrainian officials confirmed Belarusian authorities “forcibly expelled” Ivan Kravtsov and Anton Rodnenkov – two of Kolesnikova’s staffers – to Ukraine on Sept. 8. Belarusian security personnel in civilian clothes abducted Kolesnikova, Rodnenkov, and Kravtsov in downtown Minsk on Sept. 7. Rodnenkov claimed Belarusian authorities decided to expel him and Kravtsov to Ukraine, rather than Poland or Lithuania, because they did not have passports with EU visas. Kravtsov and Rodnenkov confirmed at a press conference in Kyiv on Sept. 8 that they witnessed Kolesnikova destroy her passport while in Belarusian detention to avoid expulsion.
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(FILES) In this file photo taken on August 11, 2020 Maria Kolesnikova, an ally of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, holds a press conference in Minsk.
