Russian Coast Guard Seized Belarusian Dissident Anatol Kotau From $2.8 Million Yacht off Abkhazia
Updated
Updated · DW (English) · Jun 18
Russian Coast Guard Seized Belarusian Dissident Anatol Kotau From $2.8 Million Yacht off Abkhazia
3 articles · Updated · DW (English) · Jun 18
Summary
DW and partner investigations found Russia’s Coast Guard boarded the yacht Shells off Abkhazia on Aug. 22, 2025, and removed former Belarusian diplomat Anatol Kotau, who vanished after leaving Turkey.
Passenger records and source accounts show the 45-year-old boarded the yacht in Trabzon on Aug. 21, officially bound for Sochi, then stopped replying to messages about three hours into the trip.
The investigation says the yacht instead headed toward Sukhumi, where satellite imagery showed a patrol boat leaving Russia’s FSB base at Ochamchire about an hour before Kotau was taken off.
Kotau had been sentenced in absentia to 12 years in Belarus in 2024 and was wanted by both Belarus and Russia after becoming an outspoken opposition activist in exile in Poland.
Evidence around fellow passengers, yacht ownership changes and business links to Belarusian security-connected figures points to a likely joint Russian-Belarusian operation, though both countries declined comment.
How did Russian and Belarusian spies orchestrate an activist's abduction from a yacht in the Black Sea?
Is Russia turning occupied Georgia into a black site for kidnapping political opponents?
Abducted at Sea: The Unresolved Fate of Anatol Kotau and the Rise of Belarusian Transnational Repression (2025–2026)
Overview
Anatol Kotau disappeared after boarding the yacht Shells in Trabzon, Turkey, along with four other passengers and a crew hired just for this trip. The crew, who did not speak Russian, were dismissed after the voyage. Two passengers, Grib and Golovanov, directed the yacht toward Abkhazia, a region with close Russian ties. When the vessel reached Abkhazian waters, the Russian coastguard reportedly took Kotau off the yacht. Grib and Golovanov then disembarked in Sukhumi and traveled to Russia, while only one passenger returned to Turkey. Kotau’s fate remains unknown, highlighting a complex, state-linked operation.