Belarus: concern after the hospitalization in intensive care of the opponent Maria Kolesnikova
Maria Kolesnikova during her trial in Minsk, Belarus, August 4, 2021. AP - Ramil Nasibulin
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Maria Kolesnikova, imprisoned since 2020, is in intensive care in hospital after being placed in solitary confinement last week, according to her family and supporters.
The regime of Alexander Lukashenko keeps the greatest vagueness on the state of health of the opponent, sentenced last year to eleven years in prison.
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German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on Wednesday for the release of
Maria Kolesnikova
.
“
The information on the state of health of Maria Kolesnikova worries me.
The Belarusian government must guarantee her health and release her immediately
,” the German minister tweeted, adding: “His commitment to democracy is not a crime.”
Her supporters had announced Tuesday her hospitalization in intensive care for undetermined reasons, and they were worried Wednesday not to have heard from her.
A major figure in the challenge to the regime of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko after the 2020 presidential election,
she was sentenced in September 2021
to eleven years in prison, following a trial behind closed doors during which justice convicted of "
conspiracy to seize power
", "
calls for action undermining national security
" and "
creating an extremist formation
".
“
For most political prisoners, the conditions of detention are extremely supervised
”
Contacted by telephone, her sister Tatsiana Khomich, talks about her conditions of detention: “
Maria is being held in a women's prison, in Gomel, 20 kilometers from the Ukrainian border,
she explains.
All the women there are forced to work.
If they refuse, they are punished.
For most political prisoners, the conditions of detention are extremely strict: they all have a yellow mark on their clothes, which means that they have been convicted of extremism, and they are more closely monitored with additional checks every day – their clothes, their personal belongings are further searched.
As for Maria herself, during her working days, she is constantly followed by someone, even if she wants to go to the toilet.
The last time I spoke to him, at the end of July, I found him very strong, very beautiful, I must say, very courageous, very positive.
From that date, they refused our calls, only my father had him regularly on the phone.
Until November 17 when she was punished and placed in solitary confinement;
there, she no longer had the right to any appeal.
»
The opponent has been incarcerated since September 2020 after spectacularly resisting an attempt to deport her from her own country.
The United States, which is critical of the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, has said it hopes Ms Kolesnikova will make a full recovery.
Uzra Zeya, Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Human Rights, said his country condemned the "
horrible abuses
" committed against the opponent and against "the more than 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus".
“
Those responsible will be held to account
,” she tweeted.
The West has adopted several sets of sanctions against Minsk, which, on the other hand, enjoys the unwavering support of Moscow.
An ally of Russia, Belarus served as a rear base for Russian troops for their offensive against Ukraine in late February, but the Belarusian army has not taken part in the fighting on Ukrainian territory so far.
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Belarus
Alexander Lukashenko
Human rights