A Russian cameraman has accused the authorities in Belarus of conducting what he called an indirect attack against independent journalists after his colleague disappeared in mysterious circumstances.

The cameraman, Pavel Sheremet, said there was no logical explanation for the disappearance of his partner, Dmitry Zavadsky, who failed to appear for a meeting at Minsk airport on Friday.

The two men have had problems with the Belarus authorities before, being jailed for several weeks in 1998 for a report they compiled on lax border controls.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service