Belarusian opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova being held on suspicion of state treason

Maria Kolesnikova leader was snatched in street by masked men on Monday

Authorities in Belarus have been accused of terrorising their own people (Getty)

Belarusian opposition politician Maria Kolesnikova is being detained under suspicion of state treason, as part of a criminal case involving an attempt to seize power, the Russian news agency RIA cited her lawyer as saying on Wednesday.

Ms Kolesnikova was snatched in the street by masked men on Monday. She is a prominent leader of the ongoing protests demanding the resignation of Alexander Lukashenko following a 9 August presidential election that the opposition says was rigged. Mr Lukashenko denies vote-rigging.

Nobel prize-winning author Svetlana Alexievich, one of Ms Kolesnikova's allies, accused the Belarus authorities of terrorising their own people on Wednesday as another opposition politician was detained by masked men in plain clothes. 

Reuters