Maria Kalesnikava is a key  political opposition leader  in Belarus /  Сильные Новости: GomelTube

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

Maria Kolesnikova, a key opposition leader in Belarus, was reportedly snatched off a street in capital city Minsk in broad daylight on Monday by masked men, according  to media reports.   Kolesnikova was pushed into a minivan Monday morning about 10 a.m. local time and hasn’t been seen since, media reported.  Belarus has been in a state of political turmoil following the widely disputed re-election of long-time dictator President Alexander Lukashenko August 9.  Critics  immediately denounced Lukashenko’s landslide victory as being rigged and mass protests erupted with thousands taking to the streets of Minsk and across the country to vent frustration.  Lukashenko’s government unleaded a brutal crackdown on protesters. Nearly 7,000 protesters have been arrested amid post-election crackdown by Belarus officials.  Protesters reported being beaten and tortured.  Lukashenko won 80.23% of the vote, with rival challenger  Sviatlana Tikhanovskaya receiving 9.9%.  Tikhanovskaya  fled the country in the aftermath of the disputed presidential elections.  Tikhanovskaya  is in exile in Lithuania where she continues to speak out against the election results.  Tikhanovskaya  addressed the UN Security Council Friday  urging  international sanctions be imposed individuals in the Belarus government of President   Lukashenko 

Belarus opposition leader Kolesnikova,  who is 38-years old,  is reportedly the only member of the three women who have joined forces to fight against President  Lukashenko’s disputed election to have remained in the country. Before the election, Kolesnikova had joined forces with the opposition presidential candidate Tikhanovskaya who later fled to Lithuania.  Three other members of the opposition coordination council have also vanished, leading many to accuse the Belarus authorities of attempting  to destroy the protest movement.