Anatol Kotau, a former regime collaborator who defected to the opposition after the 2020 election fraud, disappeared in Istanbul after fleeing to Turkey. His whereabouts remain unknown.
Defected from the Regime, Joined the Protesters
“Rzeczpospolita” reports that Anatol Kotau switched sides to the opposition following the disputed 2020 elections in Belarus. Previously, he held a senior position in the administration of Alexander Lukashenko. After condemning the violence against protesters opposing the electoral fraud, Kotau fled abroad and hid in Poland. The newspaper states that in Belarus, he was convicted of extremist activities, conspiring against the regime, and sentenced in absentia to 12 years in a labor camp.
Arrived in Istanbul and Vanished
“On Thursday, August 21, he arrived in Istanbul and since then we have had no contact with him,” said Aleksander Apeikin of the Foundation for Solidarity in Sports, which supports repressed Belarusian athletes. Kotau collaborated with the organization. Close associates of the opposition figure informed Turkish police and the Polish consulate in Istanbul about his disappearance.
Another Disappearance
At the end of March, the Coordination Council, the exile government equivalent of Belarus, reported the disappearance of Anzhelika Mielnikava, its chairman. She was supposed to travel to another non-EU country. Contact with her was cut off on March 25. Opposition figure Paweł Łatuszka stated that Mielnikava’s mobile phone connected to the Minsk network near March 19. Her husband allegedly left Poland and returned to Belarus with their daughters. Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak noted at the end of March that Mielnikava had not been in the territory of our country for weeks. The Insider reported that Mielnikava recently maintained contact with a Belarusian security services officer using a forged passport.
Source: Gazeta, https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/bialorus#anchorLink), https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/rzad#anchorLink)
