Nobel Prize winner Alexievich leaves for Germany for private reasons - media
MINSK. Sept 28 (Interfax) - Nobel Prize-winning writer and member of the Presidium of the Belarusian opposition's Coordination Council Svetlana Alexievich has gone to Germany, but her departure is not related to a criminal case opened against the council, Belarusian media outlets reported on Monday, citing Alexievich's aide.
"Why should Svetlana Alexandrovna leave her country for good? It's nothing of the sort. She has left due to private reasons. She has meetings planned, will attend a book fair in Sweden, and will receive an award in Sicily," the writer's aide told the tut.by news website on Monday.
Alexievich's departure has nothing to do with the criminal case opened against the Belarusian opposition's Coordination Council, the aide said.
"No, of course, she has left due to private, literature-related reasons. This is her normal life. It's just that she was unable to go anywhere for a long time for health reasons. When will she be back? Everything depends on how the developments will unfold here and on her state of health," she said.
Alexievich is a member of the Presidium of the Belarusian opposition's Coordination Council. On August 26, she was summoned to the Belarusian Investigative Committee for questioning as a witness in the criminal case opened against the Coordination Council, but she declined to testify at the time.
Almost all members of the Coordination Council's Presidium are currently either in detention or outside Belarus.
Mass protests against the results of the Belarusian presidential election, whose official winner is incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko, first elected in 1994, have been ongoing since August 9. The opposition has refused to recognize the official results and said the vote was rigged.
