One of the men arrested, Aleksandr Feduta, was Lukahsenko’s spokesman when he was first elected in 1994, but later joined the opposition. The Federal Security Service said Saturday that the two have been handed over to Belarus. Russian authorities were alerted to information about the men’s plans by the Belarusian security service, the KGB. Security forces then cracked down hard on the demonstrations, arresting more than 34,000 people, many of whom were beaten. Most prominent opposition figures have fled Belarus or have since been jailed.

Source: ABC News April 17, 2021 20:15 UTC