Maria Kolesnikova was transferred to the colony | Major political events in Belarus: assessments, forecasts, comments

According to the Belarusian human rights center Viasna, a member of the Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition, Maria Kolesnikova, sentenced to a long prison term, was transferred to a colony. She was sent to the Gomel women’s correctional colony No. 4 in Gomel, human rights activists wrote on the Telegram channel on Tuesday, January 11.

Over the next two weeks, Kolesnikova will be in quarantine, it is indicated below.

On the eve, it was reported that another member of the Presidium of the Coordination Council, Maxim Znak, was being transferred to a colony in the Vitebsk region.

The pursuit of Maria Kolesnikova and Maxim Znak

Musician Maria Kolesnikova, who lived in Stuttgart for 12 years, returned to Belarus in 2020, was the coordinator of the headquarters of ex-banker Viktor Babariko, who announced his intention to participate in the presidential elections. After his arrest, she became a member of the “opposition trio” and participated in the election campaign together with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Veronika Tsepkalo. During the presidential campaign, the well-known lawyer Maxim Znak was responsible for legal issues in Viktor Babariko’s team.

Kolesnikova and Znak were detained in September 2020, they were charged under three articles of the Criminal Code of Belarus: public calls for actions aimed at harming national security (part 3 of article 361 of the Criminal Code), conspiracy to seize state power in an unconstitutional way (part 1 article 357 of the Criminal Code) and the creation of an extremist formation (part 1 of article 361-1 of the Criminal Code).

In September 2021, Kolesnikova was sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment in the colony, Znak – to 10 years. At the end of December, the Supreme Court of Belarus at a closed session upheld the sentences of Kolesnikova and Znak.

See also:

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
Record for political prisoners in Belarus
Over 900 – such a record number of political prisoners in the history of the country is quoted by the human rights center “Viasna”. Among those who ended up in prison due to political persecution are presidential campaign participants, volunteers of their headquarters, public activists, businessmen, bloggers and journalists, human rights activists, political analysts, workers, students and many other critics of the Lukashenka regime.

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
Victor and Edward Babariko
A presidential contender, ex-head of Belgazprombank Viktor Babariko could become Lukashenka’s strongest rival in the elections. He was detained along with his son Eduard, who led his initiative group, in June 2020 on charges of money laundering, bribery and tax evasion. On July 6, 2021, Viktor Babariko was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
Maria Kolesnikova
Musician and art director Maria Kolesnikova headed the election headquarters of Viktor Babariko. Then she became one of the “three graces” who headed the Joint Headquarters of the opposition. Member of the Presidium of the Coordination Council. She was kidnapped and brought to the border with Ukraine for expulsion from the country. But she tore up my passport and thwarted this operation. In September 2021, she was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
To jail – for legal aid
Lawyer of Viktor Babariko’s headquarters, member of the Presidium of the Coordination Council Maxim Znak (pictured) and lawyer of Maria Kolesnikova Ilya Salei were detained in September 2020 in the case of public calls to action to the detriment of national security. Ilya Salei was released on bail in April. Maxim Znak became a defendant in a criminal case on the seizure of power. In September 2021, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
Sergei Tikhanovsky
The author of the popular YouTube channel “Country for Life” Sergei Tikhanovsky wanted to run for the presidency of the Republic of Belarus, but was detained before the start of the election campaign. As a result, his wife Svetlana put forward her candidacy. When he was released after administrative arrest, he helped collect signatures for her, but in May 2020 he was arrested. In December 2021, he was sentenced to 18 years in a closed trial.

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
Country for Life activists
Within the framework of the “Country for Life” project, Tikhanovsky traveled to the regions of Belarus and gave an opportunity to local residents to tell about their problems. Opposition politician Nikolai Statkevich – 14 years in prison, cameraman Artem Sakov and social media moderator Dmitry Popov – 16 years, bloggers Vladimir Tsyganovich and Igor Losik – 15 years in a maximum security colony were also convicted in the “Tikhanovsky case”.

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
Igor Losik
The founder of the Telegram channel “Belarus of the Brain” Igor Losik actively covered the events around the election campaign of the President of Belarus. Detained in June 2020. He was accused of organizing and preparing actions to the detriment of public order. Then – in “preparation for participation in mass riots.” In 2020, he held two hunger strikes in protest, the first for more than 40 days.

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
Bloggers behind bars
Other bloggers were also subjected to political persecution. Sergei Petrukhin (pictured) and Alexander Kabanov (“People’s Reporter”) – 3 years in prison. Sergei Korshun and Sergei Yaroshevich (“Army with the People”) – 4.5 and 5.5 years old. Vladimir Neronsky (“Slutsk for Life”) – 3 years old, Dmitry Kozlov (“Gray Cat”) – 5 years old, Denis Gutin (“Drivers-97”) – 2.5 years old. Nikolay Dedok – 5 years old. Eduard Palchis is being tried.

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
Leaders of the “old” opposition
Co-founder of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party Pavel Sevyarynets (pictured) was detained in June 2020 after pickets to collect signatures for nominating presidential candidates. Later he was given 7 years in prison. The leader of the Belarusian Popular Front party Grigory Kastusev is accused by the authorities of an attempted coup. He has been in jail since April 2021. He was diagnosed with cancer behind bars.

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
Human rights defenders targeted by the authorities
Human rights defenders were also persecuted by the Belarusian authorities. Employees of the Viasna human rights center are in custody, including its head Ales Bialiatski (pictured) and deputy Valentin Stefanovich. Prominent human rights activist Leonid Sudalenko paid fines to people detained for participating in the protests. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison.

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
Independent media staff
Media manager Andrei Alexandrov (pictured) was detained on suspicion of financing the protests. He paid the protesters’ fines. Currently, about 30 media representatives are in custody, including the Tut.by portal and the Nasha Niva publication. Employees of the “Press Club” spent 8 months in the pre-trial detention center. Since December 2020, ex-BT journalist Ksenia Lutskina, who is experiencing serious health problems, remains in custody.

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
Katerina Borisevich
Journalists also fell victim to political repression. Katerina Borisevich (Tut.by portal) spent 6 months in prison. In her article, she wrote that there was no alcohol in the blood of Roman Bondarenko, who died after being beaten by Lukashenka’s supporters, contrary to the claims of the authorities. This information was given to her by the doctor of the emergency hospital Artem Sorokin, now also a political prisoner.

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
Katerina Andreeva and Daria Chultsova
Journalists of the Polish TV channel Belsat Katerina Andreeva and Daria Chultsova were streaming during the brutal dispersal of the protesters by the security forces in the Minsk courtyard, known as the “Change Square” – and received two years in prison. They were accused of organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order.

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
Student activists
Students were expelled or subjected to administrative arrests for protests. And 12 defendants in the “student case”, including Olga Filatchenkova, a traitor to BSUIR, and Alana Gebremariam, a medical university graduate (pictured), were accused of “active participation in group actions that grossly violate public order” and were imprisoned for a term of 2 to 2.5 years.

Political prisoners in Belarus are prisoners of Lukashenka’s regime
Disproportionate response to protesters
Several dozen political prisoners are accused of participating in mass riots or using violence against police officers. According to human rights activists, peaceful protests did not pose a threat to national or public security. Certain cases of violence against the police require a separate legal qualification – in the context of self-defense against disproportionate actions of the security forces.
Author: Yanina Moroz