The family members of imprisoned Belarusian opposition determine hasn't read from her for more than 400 times
TALLINN, Estonia — It is been 434 days because the family of imprisoned Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova heard from her, her relatives claimed Wednesday, on the activist’s 42nd birthday.
Kolesnikova, who is serving 11 years in prison for supporting manage anti-authorities protests in Belarus in 2020, and other imprisoned opposition figures have been held incommunicado for months on close, raising fears for their properly-remaining.
“It’s the fourth birthday that Maria spends powering bars, and recently we obtained details that her wellbeing is deteriorating and we don’t know if she’s staying handled at all,” her sister Tatsiana Khomich told Belarusian media. Khomich added that the last letter the loved ones received from Kolesnikova arrived in February 2023, and bits and parts of news about her trickle via other inmates.
Belarus was rocked by mass protests immediately after an election in 2020 that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko his sixth time period in business office — a vote that was denounced by the West and the opposition as fraudulent. Authorities responded by arresting additional than 35,000 people and brutally beating 1000’s of them. Quite a few prime opposition figures were being arrested and given extensive jail conditions, when others fled overseas.
With her brief-cropped hair and lively smile, Kolesnikova was famous for appearing at demonstrations and forming a heart with her fingers.
The activist has been at the rear of bars given that September 2020. She was placed in custody immediately after tearing up her passport at the border when authorities attempted to expel her.
In 2022, Kolesnikova underwent belly surgical treatment but was swiftly transported back again to prison. Her father was authorized to visit her then. Before this week, Belarus’ most outstanding human rights group, Viasna, stated Kolesnikova among 93 political prisoners who have critical clinical difficulties and could be close to dying.
Viasna has also described that Kolesnikova has faced force and harassment from other inmates, who acted on the guidance of prison officers.
Due to the fact March 2023, the activist has been held in total isolation, Khomich mentioned, and “info about her appears only if someone is positioned in a mobile next to her.”
Viasna has counted 1,401 political prisoners in Belarus. Between them is the group’s founder Ales Bialiatski, who gained the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.
Belarusian opposition chief Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was compelled into exile in Lithuania, called for solidarity with Kolesnikova on her birthday on Wednesday. “If the regime is ‘not at war towards women’, then how arrive it is the fourth calendar year presently that Masha spends this day at the rear of bars?” Tsikhanouskaya said on social system X.
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TALLINN, Estonia — It is been 434 days because the family of imprisoned Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova heard from her, her relatives claimed Wednesday, on the activist’s 42nd birthday.
Kolesnikova, who is serving 11 years in prison for supporting manage anti-authorities protests in Belarus in 2020, and other imprisoned opposition figures have been held incommunicado for months on close, raising fears for their properly-remaining.
“It’s the fourth birthday that Maria spends powering bars, and recently we obtained details that her wellbeing is deteriorating and we don’t know if she’s staying handled at all,” her sister Tatsiana Khomich told Belarusian media. Khomich added that the last letter the loved ones received from Kolesnikova arrived in February 2023, and bits and parts of news about her trickle via other inmates.
Belarus was rocked by mass protests immediately after an election in 2020 that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko his sixth time period in business office — a vote that was denounced by the West and the opposition as fraudulent. Authorities responded by arresting additional than 35,000 people and brutally beating 1000’s of them. Quite a few prime opposition figures were being arrested and given extensive jail conditions, when others fled overseas.
With her brief-cropped hair and lively smile, Kolesnikova was famous for appearing at demonstrations and forming a heart with her fingers.
The activist has been at the rear of bars given that September 2020. She was placed in custody immediately after tearing up her passport at the border when authorities attempted to expel her.
In 2022, Kolesnikova underwent belly surgical treatment but was swiftly transported back again to prison. Her father was authorized to visit her then. Before this week, Belarus’ most outstanding human rights group, Viasna, stated Kolesnikova among 93 political prisoners who have critical clinical difficulties and could be close to dying.
Viasna has also described that Kolesnikova has faced force and harassment from other inmates, who acted on the guidance of prison officers.
Due to the fact March 2023, the activist has been held in total isolation, Khomich mentioned, and “info about her appears only if someone is positioned in a mobile next to her.”
Viasna has counted 1,401 political prisoners in Belarus. Between them is the group’s founder Ales Bialiatski, who gained the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.
Belarusian opposition chief Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was compelled into exile in Lithuania, called for solidarity with Kolesnikova on her birthday on Wednesday. “If the regime is ‘not at war towards women’, then how arrive it is the fourth calendar year presently that Masha spends this day at the rear of bars?” Tsikhanouskaya said on social system X.
