Anatoly Kotov – Another Belarusian Opposition Politician Who Has Disappeared Without a Trace

In the past, rivals of Lukashenko and independent journalists have disappeared without a trace inside Belarus, but now a politician has vanished outside the country, in Turkey, and nothing has been known about him for five months.

Human rights violation dossier: Anatoly Kotov,

prepared by: VšĮ „Our House Centre for Human Rights and Relief“,

January 2026

1. Personal information

2. Basic information

Anatoly Anatolyevich Kotov is a high-ranking Belarusian diplomat and former sports official (including positions in the National Olympic Committee of Belarus and work in diplomatic structures) who, after the events of 2020, spoke out against violence and repression and lived in exile in Poland. In Poland, Kotov had official political refugee / asylum status: he lived and worked in Poland after leaving Belarus in 2020. ¹²

On 21 August 2025, Kotov flew from Warsaw to Istanbul (Turkey). On the same day, contact with him was lost; since then, his whereabouts have not been officially confirmed.³

3. Chronology of events

2020
Anatoly Kotov left public service/office amid the protests and condemnation of violence, and then lived in exile in Poland.⁴He became one of the highest-ranking officials from Alexander Lukashenko’s system who openly supported the protests; accordingly, he became Lukashenko’s personal enemy and, in his understanding, a “traitor.”

Activities After 2020: Organizations, Functions, Sensitive Areas

1. National Anti-Crisis Management (NAM / NAU) – work after leaving Belarus

Fact of involvement: after emigrating to Poland, Anatoly Kotov began working with Pavel Latushko in the National Anti-Crisis Management.⁵

What the structure did (context of sensitivity): NAM publicly positions itself as a body that:

• prepares materials and justifications for international restrictive measures and sanctions against the Lukashenko regime and its entourage (this is directly stated in NAM’s report on its results).⁶

• works on documenting and preparing arguments for international pressure (sanctions, restrictions, legal measures).

Why this is sensitive: even the mere fact of working in NAM (a structure associated with sanctions and international legal pressure) is a “red flag” for the Belarusian authorities, because it affects the regime’s resources and its legitimacy abroad. (This is not an “assessment,” but a logical conclusion based on the publicly described functions of NAM regarding sanctions.)

2. Forum of Democratic Forces – organizer (2021)

Fact of involvement: in 2021, Kotov became one of the organizers of the Forum of Democratic Forces together with Veronika Tsepkalo, Olga Karach, and other public figures and human rights defenders.

The main propaganda newspaper of Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus Segodnya (“Belarus Today”), announced that Olga Karach, Veronika Tsepkalo, and Anatoly Kotov, for creating the Forum of Democratic Forces, were henceforth included in the Belarusian regime’s “execution lists” and must be killed without regret. That is, open threats of murder against Kotov and other creators of the Forum of Democratic Forces were voiced at a very high political level in Belarus.⁷⁸

3. Belarusian Sports Solidarity Foundation (BSSF / BFSS) – international coordinator, international department

Fact of involvement and role: BSSF officially referred to Kotov as an international coordinator and representative of the foundation; he is also mentioned as the head/leader of the foundation’s international direction in media publications.⁹

What he did:

• was on the front line of defending the rights of Belarusian athletes and publicly spoke out against the regime’s repressive practices. Anatoly Kotov worked on blocking the participation of Belarusian athletes who support Alexander Lukashenko in international competitions;¹⁰

• due to this activity and his principled position against repression, he is mentioned as a person who became the object of political persecution (including an in absentia sentence, wanted lists, and “execution” lists).¹¹

Why this is sensitive: sport is an international showcase of the Belarusian regime. The work of BSSF (and the public actions of its representatives) directly affects:

• the international reputation of the Belarusian authorities,
• Belarus’s participation in international competitions,
• issues of pressure on sports structures.

For this reason, international organizations emphasize that Kotov was a target of political persecution for his human rights activity in the sports sphere.

4. Work in Poland in the event industry (Terra Group) – parallel to public activity

Fact: in Warsaw, Kotov worked in the event agency Terra Group as his main source of income; he organized events, including trips/events in Turkey in 2025.

Why this is important in the disappearance case: therefore, the trip to Turkey could appear “ordinary/work-related,” which increases the risks of “luring” and abduction of a person.¹²

On 8 July 2024, the Brest Regional Court of the Republic of Belarus considered in absentia a criminal case against Anatoly Kotov, Olga Karach, Veronika Tsepkalo, Yevgeny Vilsky, and Vadim Dmitrenok, accused of participation in a so-called “extremist formation” created by opposition figures, human rights defenders, and activists.¹³

All defendants received prison sentences – 12 years each based on the totality of charges.

According to sources:

• Anatoly Kotov was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment with a fine of 600,000 Belarusian rubles (approximately €170,000).
• Olga Karach was also sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment with a fine of 600,000 Belarusian rubles.

The totality of charges on which the court based its decision included the following articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (partially mentioned in the press in the Karach case and related defendants):¹⁴

1. Article 357, Part 1 – conspiracy or other actions committed with the aim of seizing state power by unconstitutional means.
2. Article 361-1, Parts 1 and 3 – creation of an extremist formation and participation in it.
3. Article 361-4, Parts 1 and 2 – assistance to extremist activity.
4. Article 369-1 – discrediting the Republic of Belarus.
5. Article 367, Part 2 – defamation of the President of the Republic of Belarus.

(The list is based on descriptions of the charges in publications about the verdict, which specifically list these articles in relation to the defendants, including Kotov and Karach.)

Important: the verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus in October 2024 – the appeals were dismissed, making the verdict final under Belarusian law.¹⁵

21 August 2025 – Day of Disappearance

• Kotov flew from Warsaw (Poland) to Istanbul (Turkey); he did not inform anyone, even his close relatives, about his trip or its details.
• According to reports, he was in contact during the day, but in the evening stopped responding to messages from relatives.

• The family filed a missing person report with the Turkish police and Polish consular authorities. ¹⁶

21 August 2025 – version of the Turkish news agency (IHA), cited by a number of sources
According to the Turkish authorities, Anatoly Kotov arrived in Istanbul, then flew on a domestic flight to Trabzon and left Turkish waters on a vessel at around 18:35; contact with him ceased later.¹⁷

2 September 2025

The PACE General Rapporteur on Governance and Ethics in Sport, Mogens Jensen, publicly called on the Turkish authorities to take the necessary steps to establish Kotov’s whereabouts, ensure his safety, and clarify the circumstances of his disappearance; he separately emphasized the risk due to Belarusian and Russian wanted lists.¹⁸

Current Legal and Other Status

Kotov’s whereabouts as of January 2026 have not been publicly confirmed.¹⁹

Anatoly Kotov is one of the highest-ranking Belarusian officials who publicly sided with the Belarusian people in 2020. For this very reason, it is fundamentally important for Alexander Lukashenko to demonstrate to all other representatives of the nomenklatura the price of such a step. The return of Kotov to Belarus and a demonstrative reprisal against him are necessary for the Belarusian regime and personally for Alexander Lukashenko as an instrument of intimidation of his own officials: as a signal that even outside the country it is impossible to hide from the Belarusian repressive apparatus.

If the available information is confirmed and Anatoly Kotov was indeed abducted by Belarusian special services, his disappearance on Turkish territory will testify to a qualitative escalation of extraterritorial repression by the Belarusian regime. This means a direct and immediate threat to all other defendants and associated persons, including Olga Karach, Veronika Tsepkalo, and others, who are already on the regime’s so-called open “execution lists” and are simultaneously subjected to systematic extraterritorial attacks and persecution.

Thus, there are well-founded and serious grounds to fear the enforced disappearance of Anatoly Kotov. This case requires an immediate and extremely attentive response from the international community, since the absence of such a response effectively opens the way to a further chain of abductions and disappearances.

About The Author

Darko Kalinowski

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