Belarus opposition leader Statkevich detained

By Abbey Westbury
October 31 2017 07:22 AM

CP2039351010 — In this photo taken on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, opposition leader Nikolai Statkevich seen during protest action against the Zapad (West) 2017 joint Russia-Belarus maneuvers in Minsk, Belarus. The wife of Nikolai Statkevich a leading opposition figure in Belarus said on Tuesday Oct. 31, 2017 that her husband has been detained by the police. Statkevich had organized two events in Belarus this month - a protest march against the government Oct. 21 and a commemoration on Sunday Oct. 29, for victims of Stalin-era political repression. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

MINSK, Belarus – The wife of a leading opposition figure in Belarus says her husband has been detained by the police.

Marina Adamovich says in a Facebook post that she was travelling with her husband, Mykola Statkevich, Monday evening when they were stopped by traffic police, who detained Statkevich.

Adamovich says she wasn’t told why he was detained.

Statkevich had organized two events in Belarus this month — a protest march against the government Oct. 21 and a commemoration Sunday for victims of Stalin-era political repression.

Statkevich ran against authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in the 2010 election and was arrested after a large demonstration protesting the results. He spent the next five years in prison.

He had been due to travel to Ukraine for a conference Tuesday involving members of the European Parliament.

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