Belarus: what we know about the arrest of opponent Maria Kolesnikova

The crackdown continues in Belarus, where one of the three main opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko was arrested on Monday.

Maria Kolesnikova, 38, was the only one to remain in the country, and not to have chosen exile after the controversial presidential election of August 9, 2020. The other two, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Veronika Tsepkalo, have had to leave, respectively to Lithuania and Russia.

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Why was Maria Kolesnikova arrested?

Two versions clash over the arrest of Maria Kolesnikova on the border with Ukraine.

Belarusian border guards say she was with two other opponents in a car driving towards the border.

And according to them, she would have been practically thrown out of this car, as if her comrades wanted to get rid of her.

Also according to the border guards, two other members like her of the opposition Coordination Council, which aims to organize a transition of power, have crossed the border.

They are Anton Rodenkov and Ivan Kravtsov.

The Ukrainian version is very different.

According to Kiev, Maria Kolesnikova was indeed in a car, but because the Belarusian authorities were trying to deport her, the young woman would have resisted and this is what earned her to be detained today.

This version seems a logical continuation of the disappearance of the opponent, reported Monday in Minsk.

Supporters of Maria Kolesnikova say she was abducted, put into a vehicle against her will, in a new attempt at forced exile.

It is a habit of the Belarusian power, which would therefore have targeted this time this young woman of 38 years.

How did she become a charismatic figure of the opposition?

Recognizable by her short platinum hair, this professional and multilingual flautist became an icon of the opposition by chance this summer, when the candidate for whom she was the campaign manager was jailed.

Very comfortable in front of crowds and in front of cameras, she continued her fight until she ended up in detention.

She is the last opposition figure still present on Belarusian territory.

How is the international community reacting?

On Twitter, the head of British diplomacy Dominic Raab said he was "very concerned" while the German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heiko Maas, assured in the daily

that Germany "demands to know where it is".

The European Union's foreign minister, Josep Borrell, also called on the Belarusian authorities on Monday for "the immediate release" of political opponents and recalled that it would impose sanctions "on those responsible" for the repression in the country.

Peter Stano, spokesperson for the European Commission, for his part denounced as "unacceptable" the "continued repression by the authorities against the civilian population, peaceful demonstrators and political activists".

The Belarusian Interior Ministry, for its part, said it had no information on these disappearances.