MINSK, January 16. /TASS/: Maria Kolesnikova, a member of the Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition, was remanded in custody after a hearing at the Minsk district court had rejected her complaint, former Belarusian presidential candidate Viktor Babariko’s Telegram channel reported on Saturday.
Under the Minsk district court ruling, Kolesnikova will remand in custody at Minsk’s pre-trial detention center No.1, where she was transferred to from the Zhodino pre-trial detention center on January 8. Earlier, the investigation extended Kolesnikova’s custody until March 8.
"I am going to appeal against the Partizansky District Court’s ruling not later than tomorrow (to the Minsk City Court - TASS). And Maria Kolesnikova will appeal within 24 hours after the ruling is handed to her at the pre-trial detention center," Lyudmila Kazak, the lawyer for Kolesnikova, said.
Kolesnikova was detained in the early hours of September 8 on suspicion of calling for a power grab. Prosecutors sanctioned her arrest. On September 16, she was charged with public calls for the seizure of power or the violent overthrow of Belarus’ constitutional system.
The Coordination Council was set up on August 14 on the initiative of former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who refused to recognize the August 9 election results. Incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko received 80.1% of the vote, while Tikhanovskaya, garnered 10.12%.
