MINSK/MOSCOW ¨C As Belarus television showed the Russian head of OAO Uralkali, the world¡¯s biggest potash producer, being led around the courtyard of an undisclosed prison, Anatoly Lebedko knew exactly where it was: Amerikanka.
Amerikanka, or American Lady, is the nickname of the Minsk prison operated by the nation¡¯s successor to the KGB where President Aleksandr Lukashenko jailed Lebedko and other opposition leaders after his re-election in 2010. German Chancellor Angela Merkel last year said Belarus suffers ¡°dictatorship and repression¡± under Lukashenko, who has ruled this former Soviet republic since 1994.
The 18-cell facility in the KGB¡¯s headquarters has become the ¡°hostage center of choice for politicians and executives who run afoul of Lukashenko,¡± Lebedko, 52, who runs the United Civil Party, said Tuesday. ¡°Supper consists of either salted herring or milk soup,¡± said Lebedko, who spent 108 days in Amerikanka for leading a rally.
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