Belarus opposition leader placed on Russia’s wanted list

Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has been placed on Russia’s wanted list, the country’s interior ministry has said. The 38-year-old, who took refuge in European Union member Lithuania following her claim to have beaten long-running leader Alexander Lukashenko in August elections, is “wanted on a criminal charge,” the Russian interior ministry told AFP on Wednesday. The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that Tikhanovskaya faces a charge in Belarus of making public calls to harm the country’s security, including calls to seize power. Russian news agencies cited law enforcement sources as saying that her listing appeared automatically due to Moscow’s commitments as part of a “union state” with neighbouring Belarus. Belarus has not announced Tikhanovskaya as wanted, however. Belarusian interior ministry spokeswoman Olga Chemodanova told the country’s Tut.by independent news site, “So far, I don’t have information that I could tell you.” Tikhanovskaya’s campaign office told the Russian Interfax news agency: “We don’t know about this. Svetlana did not receive any messages. But this is actually of little interest [to us].” Numerous key allies of Tikhanovskaya have been detained on the charge of making public calls to harm the country’s security or driven out of the country by threats from the authorities. Huge crowds have gathered for protests every weekend in Belarus since the elections, despite harsh police tactics including the use of tear gas and water cannon, supporting Tikhanovskaya’s call for new elections to be held according to international standards. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">