{"id":176686,"date":"2026-02-21T19:24:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T16:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/176686\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"six-months-after-disappearance-opposition-activist-kotau-still-missing","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/176686\/","title":{"rendered":"Six months after disappearance, opposition activist Kota\u016d still missing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (Belinstitute.com)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

February 21, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Six months have passed since the disappearance of Belarusian opposition activist Anatol Kota\u016d, whose whereabouts remain unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kota\u016d, who lived in Poland, disappeared after landing in Turkey on August 21. He reportedly left the country that same evening aboard a private yacht that departed from the Black Sea port of Trabzon for Russia\u2019s Sochi, DW<\/em> reported, citing a source in the Trabzon police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His wife fears that he may be held by the Belarusian Committee for State Security (KGB).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A former Belarusian diplomat and official in \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s administration, Kota\u016d left government service in 2020 and supported the post-election protests in Belarus. He later joined the Belarusian Sports Solidarity Fund (BSSF) and emigrated to Poland, fearing politically motivated persecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, he was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison in Belarus on extremism-related charges \u2014 a label Minsk frequently uses to punish opponents in exile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March last year, another high-profile Belarusian opposition figure, An\u017ealika Mielnikava, also disappeared after leaving the European Union. Her whereabouts remain unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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