Belarusian Opposition Leader Missing for Two Months After Possible Trip to Cuba

Anzhelika Melnikova, who serves as the head of the Belarusian opposition group Bypol, has been unaccounted for over two months following a potential journey to Cuba. According to Alexander Azarov, the leader of BYPOL, the most plausible theory regarding Melnikova’s disappearance is that she traveled to Cuba for a vacation, where she was subsequently detained and handed over to the regime of Alexander Lukashenko.

Melnikova, who holds Polish citizenship, had previously visited the island for leisure. In response to her disappearance, Polish authorities have initiated a covert investigation into her possible abduction. She is considered one of the most significant figures in the Belarusian resistance, second only to Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Melnikova had informed her close associates about her plan to take a vacation.

The opposition leader departed from Poland for London on February 26th, accompanied by her daughters, aged 13 and 17. Her trail vanished after March 25th. Prior to this, she had informed colleagues of a COVID-19 illness, and on March 13th, someone accessed BYPOL's Coordination Council files from an alleged Belarusian IP address using her phone.

Melnikova's daughters ended up in Belarus shortly thereafter, where they were handed over to her ex-husband, as explained by Azarov. He dismisses the notion that Melnikova absconded with the Coordination Council's funds, arguing that the sum, around 100,000 euros, is too minor to evade INTERPOL for long.

Azarov maintains that Melnikova spent time in London with her daughters before flying to Cuba. He recalls a meeting with her in 2022 at an economic forum in Karpacz, where she mentioned her upcoming vacation to Cuba. She had recently returned, showing cigars from the country and expressing her enjoyment, highlighting Cuba as an affordable and wonderful vacation spot. According to Azarov, she traveled alone.

Despite the seeming oddity of Melnikova vacationing in a nation allied with the Belarusian regime, Azarov notes that in 2022, she was merely an employee in the office of Pavel Latushko, leader of the People's Anti-Crisis Management and her collaborator in the Constitutional Court. Latushko is also in contact with Polish authorities regarding the investigation.

Azarov suggests Melnikova may have fabricated her illness in London, as a vacation might have been viewed unfavorably by opposition forces. He concludes that while the Lukashenko regime might have publicly celebrated her arrest, as with other opposition figures, they have kept it under wraps, possibly due to ignorance of her recent Polish naturalization.

Azarov pointed out that Cuba openly cooperates with Belarusian authorities.