March 31, Pozirk. Theodoros Rousopoulos, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), described the disappearance of Anžalika Melnikava, speaker of the Coordination Council (CC), and her daughters as an alarming development.
“The [Alaksandar] Łukašenka regime has a long history of using repression and intimidation against its opponents, making every such disappearance a matter of grave concern,” he stressed in a statement on pace.coe.int.
Rousopoulos joined the call by Ryszard Petru, the PACE general rapporteur for a democratic Belarus, urging anyone with information about the whereabouts of Mielnikava and her daughters to immediately contact Polish investigators.
Pavieł Łatuška of the opposition transition cabinet said he had not heard from Mielnikava since March 25. She reportedly left Poland for the United Kingdom, without notifying her associates. No further details are available at the moment.
Łatuška pointed out that opposition leaders are priority targets for Belarus’ and Russia’s secret services.
Stanisłava Hlińnik, vice-speaker and granddaughter of the late Belarusian leader Stanisłaŭ Šuškievič, temporarily took over Mielnikava’s responsibilities at the CC.
