Further info on Maria Kolesnikova

On Monday, masked men kidnapped Kolesnikova from the centre of Minsk and drove her away. Two of her opposition colleagues also vanished. The three activists were later driven to the Alexandrovka border with Ukraine in a car that arrived at about 4am on Tuesday.

Kolesnikova refused to cross and deliberately ripped up her passport, according to reports. “When attempting to deport her, she tore her passport and could not be allowed into the territory of Ukraine by border guards,” a source told Interfax-Ukraine agency.

Ukraine’s deputy interior minister, Anton Gerashchenko, posted on Facebook that Kolesnikova had successfully prevented “a forcible expulsion from her native country”.

  Guardian

I might have chosen to go. Damned brave of her.

The activists with her – Anton Rodnenkov and Ivan Kravtsov – are believed to be in Ukraine. The official Belarus Belta news agency said Kolesnikova was pushed out of the car, which went on without her across the Ukraine border. Belarus border guards then appear to have recaptured Kolsenikova. Officials have not confirmed what happened and the events at the border and her whereabouts are unclear.

Weird. And disturbing.

“Kolesnikova has now been detained. I can’t say concretely where she is, but she has been detained,” Anton Bychokovsky, a Belarus border guard spokesperson told Reuters.

[...]

Kolesnikova was a campaign partner of the opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who claimed victory against the longstanding president, Alexander Lukashenko, in disputed elections on 9 August.

[...]

Germany and Britain have demanded answers over Kolesnikova’s whereabouts.

The Trump administration doesn't give a shit. They're not interested in free and fair elections. Or democratic governance. Or human rights.

The British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, tweeted: “Seriously concerned for the welfare of Maria Kolesnikova in Belarus. Lukashenko’s regime must make her safe return their highest priority. The regime must cease brutalising protesters, release political prisoners and begin dialogue with the opposition.”

They have America's tacit approval.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

Oh look - the US has expressed disapproval.

In Washington, the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, issued a statement expressing concern about the attempt to expel Kolesnikova and warning that the US and its allies were considering sanctions against Belarus.

  Guardian

We still have allies?