Concerns are growing for a dissident Belarusian sports official who has gone missing in Turkey. Anatol Kotau, the former secretary general of the Belarusian Olympic Committee, was last heard from shortly after arriving in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, on August 21. Turkish police told DW they had no record of Kotau's disappearance in their systems, despite his wife filing a missing persons report electronically on August 25. Such reports must be submitted in person, the police said. While Kotau's wife and colleagues fear he was abducted, a report by Turkish news agency IHA has added further mystery to his disappearance. Without citing any sources, the report claimed that Kotau flew to Trabzon, on Turkey's Black Sea coast, on the same day he arrived in Istanbul, before leaving the country via the sea border. No signs of 'depression or crisis' Kotau is one of the founding members of the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF), which was created in 2020 to support Belarusian athletes who oppose the country's leader, Alexander Lukashenko, often referred to as Europe's last dictator. His missing persons report, which has been seen by DW, details phone messages between him and his wife on the day of his disappearance on August 21. At 12.26 p.m. Polish time, Kotau writes that he has landed at Istanbul Airport. His wife then asks him where he is staying. Just under two hours later, he replies: "I'll send it when I know." His last contact is said to be at 9.28 p.m. Polish time; a hotel address was never sent. Show additional content? This content is part of the text you are currently reading. The provider X / Twitter provides this content and may collect your usage data directly when you click “Show content”. Always show content from X / Twitter. BSSF Director Alexander Opeikin told DW that Kotau's behavior had been "usual" before his trip to Istanbul, which was due to last two to three days. "There were no signals about any depression or any crisis in his life," Opeikin said. Kotau active in Belarusian opposition circles As part of their work, Kotau and the BSSF also successfully pushed for Belarus to be stripped of hosting international sports competitions, most notably the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Hockey is Lukashenko's favorite sport. The 45-year-old Kotau's political activism saw him sentenced to 12 years in prison in absentia in July 2024, on charges including "conspiracy to seize power" and "promoting extremist activities." "Anatol was responsible for strong actions against Lukashenko's regime," Pavel Latushka, a prominent Belarusian opposition politician, told DW. "He was a high-level official, [so] in Lukashenko's eyes he must look like a traitor. "The regime is waging an open, systemic, large-scale war without any restrictions against democratic institutions and democratic activists abroad. Lukashenko's hands are already everywhere. It doesn't matter where the Belarusians are. He persecutes them even abroad." BSSF: Kotau also wanted by Russia In posts on social media, the BSSF said that Kotau had traveled to Istanbul "on professional matters," understood to be unrelated to the BSSF and his day job with a Polish events agency, although he was also known to be involved with other Belarusian opposition groups. Opeikin said he didn't know whom Kotau was intending to meet in Turkey. "I'm really concerned," Opeikin said. "We are very close on many projects. He's a great defender of athletes' rights and a real political figure on the Belarusian political stage."