Diplomat from Belarus, previously employed, goes missing in Turkey, sparking concerns of potential abduction.
In a concerning turn of events, Anatol Kotau, a prominent Belarusian opposition figure and former diplomat, has gone missing in Istanbul, Turkey. Kotau's disappearance was reported on August 21, 2022.
Kotau, who had been working for the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation and contributing to independent Belarusian media, was last seen in Istanbul after arriving from Warsaw, Poland, at 1:49 p.m. He took a domestic flight to the Black Sea port city of Trabzon before departing Turkish waters by vessel at 6:35 p.m. However, since then, there has been no contact with Kotau. His family filed a missing person report with Turkish police after he failed to return to Warsaw as scheduled on August 24.
Anatol Kotau's political shift began after he signed a public letter by Belarusian athletes condemning police violence against protesters. This action led him to flee to Poland, where he had worked for nearly a decade at Belarus's embassy and held positions such as secretary-general of the National Olympic Committee and head of the organizing committee for the 2019 European Games in Minsk.
The disappearance of Kotau is reminiscent of earlier cases from the 1990s, where Belarusian opposition figures such as Yury Zakharanka and Viktar Hanchar vanished within Belarus. More recently, Anzhalika Melnikava, spokeswoman of the opposition Coordination Council, vanished after leaving Poland to travel outside the EU with her daughters in March 2022.
Human rights groups and Western governments have accused senior Belarusian officials of organizing the abductions of Belarusian opposition figures. This allegation is further supported by the European Union and the United States imposing sanctions on Viktar Sheyman, ex-Interior Minister Yury Sivakou, and Interior Ministry Special Rapid Reaction Force commander Dzmitry Paulichenka.
Despite these disappearances and the widespread repression within Belarus since 2020, Kotau is not mentioned as part of these cases in the available information. The Belarusian Embassy in Istanbul and the Polish Consulate in Turkey have not provided any information on Kotau's whereabouts.
As the investigation into Kotau's disappearance continues, concerns about the safety and freedom of Belarusian opposition figures both within and outside their home country persist. The international community is closely monitoring the situation and calling for transparency and accountability from the Belarusian government.
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