TALLINN, Estonia — It has been 434 days because the household of imprisoned Belarusian opposition determine Maria Kolesnikova heard from her, her family members stated Wednesday, on the activist’s forty second birthday.
Kolesnikova, who’s serving 11 years in jail for serving to set up anti-government protests in Belarus in 2020, and different imprisoned opposition figures have been held incommunicado for months on finish, elevating fears for his or her well-being.
“It is the fourth birthday that Maria spends behind bars, and lately we acquired data that her well being is deteriorating and we do not know if she’s being handled in any respect,” her sister Tatsiana Khomich instructed Belarusian media. Khomich added that the final letter the household acquired from Kolesnikova got here in February 2023, and bits and items of stories about her trickle via different inmates.
Belarus was rocked by mass protests after an election in 2020 that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko his sixth time period in workplace — a vote that was denounced by the West and the opposition as fraudulent. Authorities responded by arresting greater than 35,000 folks and brutally beating 1000’s of them. Many prime opposition figures had been arrested and given lengthy jail phrases, whereas others fled overseas.
Along with her short-cropped hair and vibrant smile, Kolesnikova was well-known for showing at demonstrations and forming a coronary heart together with her fingers.
The activist has been behind bars since September 2020. She was positioned in custody after tearing up her passport on the border when authorities tried to expel her.
In 2022, Kolesnikova underwent belly surgical procedure however was shortly transported again to jail. Her father was allowed to go to her then. Earlier this week, Belarus’ most distinguished human rights group, Viasna, listed Kolesnikova amongst 93 political prisoners who’ve extreme medical issues and could possibly be near demise.
Viasna has additionally reported that Kolesnikova has confronted strain and harassment from different inmates, who acted on the directions of jail officers.
Since March 2023, the activist has been held in full isolation, Khomich stated, and “details about her seems provided that somebody is positioned in a cell subsequent to her.”
Viasna has counted 1,401 political prisoners in Belarus. Amongst them is the group’s founder Ales Bialiatski, who received the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.
Belarusian opposition chief Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was pressured into exile in Lithuania, known as for solidarity with Kolesnikova on her birthday on Wednesday. “If the regime is ‘not at conflict towards ladies’, then how come it’s the fourth yr already that Masha spends today behind bars?” Tsikhanouskaya stated on social platform X.
