Poland refuses to investigate disappearance of exiled Belarusian activist

September 22, Pozirk. Polish police and prosecutors have declined to open an investigation into the disappearance of Anatol Kotaŭ, a member of the Belarusian Sports Solidarity Fund (BSSF), the organization’s head Alaksandar Apejkin wrote on Facebook yesterday.

Although Kotaŭ had been granted asylum in Poland, this status was deemed insufficient grounds for Polish authorities to investigate a foreigner’s disappearance outside the country. Formally, he remains “under the jurisdiction and consular protection of the Republic of Belarus,” Apejkin noted.

Kotaŭ has been missing since August 21, after arriving in Turkey. The same evening, he reportedly left the country on a private yacht that departed from the Black Sea port of Trabzon for Sochi, DW reported, citing a Trabzon police source.

His wife, Anastasija Pilipčyk, reported his disappearance to Polish prosecutors on August 27.

The BSSF has urged the international sports community and human rights organizations to draw attention to the activist’s disappearance, describing Kotaŭ as a “long-standing advocate for the rights of Belarusian athletes.”

A former Belarusian diplomat and official in Alaksandar Łukašenka’s administration, Kotaŭ left government service in 2020 and sided with the post-election protest movement in Belarus. He later joined the BSSF and emigrated to Poland, fearing politically motivated persecution.

In 2024, he was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison in Belarus on extremism-related charges — a label Minsk routinely uses against opponents in exile.

Earlier in 2025, another prominent Belarusian opposition figure, Anžalika Mielnikava, also disappeared after leaving the European Union. Her whereabouts remain unknown.

Missing activist’s wife alerts Polish prosecutors