The loved ones of imprisoned Belarusian opposition figure hasn't listened to from her for a 12 months
TALLINN, Estonia — It’s been a yr since the family members of imprisoned Belarusian opposition determine Maria Kolesnikova acquired a letter from her, and no just one has noticed or read from her because then, her family and Western officials said Wednesday.
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Kolesnikova, who is serving 11 years in prison for assisting organize anti-authorities protests in Belarus in 2020, and other imprisoned opposition figures have been held incommunicado for months on end, boosting fears for their well-being.
With her brief-cropped hair and lively smile, Kolesnikova was popular for showing up at demonstrations and forming a heart with her fingers.
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“I can only pray that my daughter is alive, because the administration of the prison in (the city of) Gomel is not allowing visitation and is not responding to my letters and requests,” Kolesnikova’s father, Alexander Kolesnikov explained to The Associated Push in a telephone interview from Minsk, the Belarusian money.
Belarus was rocked by mass protests after an election in 2020 that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko his sixth phrase in office — a vote that was denounced by the West and the opposition as fraudulent. Authorities responded by arresting far more than 35,000 individuals and brutally beating thousands of them. Numerous top rated opposition figures were being arrested and provided extensive jail terms, whilst other people fled overseas.
Kolesnikova, 41, has been at the rear of bars due to the fact September 2020. She was positioned in custody soon after tearing up her passport at the border when authorities tried using to expel her. She wrote her most latest letter to her household on Feb. 12, 2023, right after she was hospitalized in important issue.
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“For much more than a year, Maria has been in demanding isolation, with no letters. Visitation from lawyers is not authorized, and her family are likely outrageous and have dropped snooze,” Kolesnikov said.
German International Minister Annalena Baerbock also expressed problem.
“We do not know how Maria is faring. But we know that her combat for liberty endures, that it was not in vain -– because courageous men and women are continuing it,” Baerbock explained in a statement.
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Human rights advocates say there are 1,416 political prisoners in Belarus, such as 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski. Activists say the authorities intentionally isolate imprisoned opposition leaders.
The U.N. Committee on Human Legal rights has demanded repeatedly that Belarusian authorities apply “urgent protection measures” for those people held incommunicado powering bars, but it has received no response.
“Incommunicado detention -– with a possibility of enforced disappearance -– is indicative of a technique to punish political opponents and cover proof of their unwell-remedy and torture by legislation enforcement and jail authorities,” the committee mentioned in a assertion.
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For above a 12 months, no one has noticed or read from Viktar Babaryka, a presidential hopeful who sought to problem Lukashenko in 2020 but was jailed and given a 14-year prison time period, his lawyer, Natalia Matskevich advised AP on Wednesday. One more opposition chief serving a 14-yr sentence, Mikola Statkevich, hasn’t been in touch with the outdoors environment due to the fact Feb. 9, 2023, Matskevich reported.
Kolesnikova’s ally, jailed lawyer Maxim Znak, also despatched his very last letter on Feb. 9, 2023, she reported, and Siarhei Tsikhanouski, the imprisoned husband of opposition chief Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, last saw his lawyers on March 9, 2023.
Matskevich, who also represents Tsikhanouski, claimed authorities extra him and Babaryka to figures the country has labeled terrorists and extremists, and they are not permitted to obtain dollars in their jail accounts to purchase personal merchandise.
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Tsikhaonuskaya urged Western governments to intervene, declaring the condition “raises very really serious considerations.”
“Access to political prisoners by attorneys providing them with authorized help has been blocked. Correspondence and telephone phone calls to kin have also been stopped. The situation of numerous of those people who uncover themselves in an incommunicado predicament is aggravated by serious diseases, which in change presents increase to justified fears as to whether these persons are even alive,” she explained.
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TALLINN, Estonia — It’s been a yr since the family members of imprisoned Belarusian opposition determine Maria Kolesnikova acquired a letter from her, and no just one has noticed or read from her because then, her family and Western officials said Wednesday.
Kolesnikova, who is serving 11 years in prison for assisting organize anti-authorities protests in Belarus in 2020, and other imprisoned opposition figures have been held incommunicado for months on end, boosting fears for their well-being.
With her brief-cropped hair and lively smile, Kolesnikova was popular for showing up at demonstrations and forming a heart with her fingers.
“I can only pray that my daughter is alive, because the administration of the prison in (the city of) Gomel is not allowing visitation and is not responding to my letters and requests,” Kolesnikova’s father, Alexander Kolesnikov explained to The Associated Push in a telephone interview from Minsk, the Belarusian money.
Belarus was rocked by mass protests after an election in 2020 that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko his sixth phrase in office — a vote that was denounced by the West and the opposition as fraudulent. Authorities responded by arresting far more than 35,000 individuals and brutally beating thousands of them. Numerous top rated opposition figures were being arrested and provided extensive jail terms, whilst other people fled overseas.
Kolesnikova, 41, has been at the rear of bars due to the fact September 2020. She was positioned in custody soon after tearing up her passport at the border when authorities tried using to expel her. She wrote her most latest letter to her household on Feb. 12, 2023, right after she was hospitalized in important issue.
“For much more than a year, Maria has been in demanding isolation, with no letters. Visitation from lawyers is not authorized, and her family are likely outrageous and have dropped snooze,” Kolesnikov said.
German International Minister Annalena Baerbock also expressed problem.
“We do not know how Maria is faring. But we know that her combat for liberty endures, that it was not in vain -– because courageous men and women are continuing it,” Baerbock explained in a statement.
Human rights advocates say there are 1,416 political prisoners in Belarus, such as 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski. Activists say the authorities intentionally isolate imprisoned opposition leaders.
The U.N. Committee on Human Legal rights has demanded repeatedly that Belarusian authorities apply “urgent protection measures” for those people held incommunicado powering bars, but it has received no response.
“Incommunicado detention -– with a possibility of enforced disappearance -– is indicative of a technique to punish political opponents and cover proof of their unwell-remedy and torture by legislation enforcement and jail authorities,” the committee mentioned in a assertion.
For above a 12 months, no one has noticed or read from Viktar Babaryka, a presidential hopeful who sought to problem Lukashenko in 2020 but was jailed and given a 14-year prison time period, his lawyer, Natalia Matskevich advised AP on Wednesday. One more opposition chief serving a 14-yr sentence, Mikola Statkevich, hasn’t been in touch with the outdoors environment due to the fact Feb. 9, 2023, Matskevich reported.
Kolesnikova’s ally, jailed lawyer Maxim Znak, also despatched his very last letter on Feb. 9, 2023, she reported, and Siarhei Tsikhanouski, the imprisoned husband of opposition chief Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, last saw his lawyers on March 9, 2023.
Matskevich, who also represents Tsikhanouski, claimed authorities extra him and Babaryka to figures the country has labeled terrorists and extremists, and they are not permitted to obtain dollars in their jail accounts to purchase personal merchandise.
Tsikhaonuskaya urged Western governments to intervene, declaring the condition “raises very really serious considerations.”
“Access to political prisoners by attorneys providing them with authorized help has been blocked. Correspondence and telephone phone calls to kin have also been stopped. The situation of numerous of those people who uncover themselves in an incommunicado predicament is aggravated by serious diseases, which in change presents increase to justified fears as to whether these persons are even alive,” she explained.
