Belarusian opposition leaders Kolesnikova and Znak being held in custody -investigative committee

Belarusian opposition leaders Maria Kolesnikova and Maxim Znak are being held in custody, Belarus' investigative committee said on Wednesday, under suspicion of destabilising the country and harming its national security.

Both Kolesnikova and Znak are prominent leaders of protests demanding the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko following an Aug. 9 presidential election that the opposition says was rigged. Lukashenko denies vote-rigging.

Nobel prize-winning author Svetlana Alexievich accused the authorities in Belarus of terrorising their own people on Wednesday, after Znak became the latest opposition figure to be detained by masked men in plainclothes.

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