FILE PHOTO: Maria Kolesnikova, a representative of Belarusian politician Viktor Babariko’s campaign office attends a rally held by supporters of Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, a candidate in the upcoming presidential election and President Alexander Lukashenko’s main challenger, in Minsk, Belarus August 6, 2020. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko
MINSK (Reuters) – Authorities in Belarus on Saturday detained Maria Kolesnikova, a prominent member of the opposition campaign challenging President Alexander Lukashenko in a presidential election, the campaign team said.
Human rights groups say more than 1,300 people have been detained in a crackdown ahead of Sunday’s election in an attempt to clamp down on street protests that pose the biggest challenge in years to Lukashenko’s rule.
Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky; writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Angus MacSwan