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.