Imprisoned Belarusian dissident Maria Kalesnikava met her father for the first time in nearly two years. The authorities will keep him in full isolation from February 2023. Sviatlana Tsykhanuskaya, the leader of the Belarusian opposition, posted a photo of them together and wrote: “I am very relieved.” The photo is the first to feature Kalesnikava in over a year.
The source of the information is a Telegram channel owned by former oppositionist and government blogger Raman Pratasevich, who claims to act as an intermediary between the authorities and Belarusians living abroad.
“I am very relieved that Marya Kalesnikava has been allowed to meet her father. She was held in solitary confinement for over 600 days, starved and separated from her family. Now we must continue to press for the isolation of other prisoners. let's abolish the political shop!” – wrote the leader of the opposition of Belarus Sviatlana Tsykhanuskaya on the website X, publishing a photo of the opposition with her father.
Independent portal Nasza Niwa reported with the conclusion of this photo that the meeting took place in the prison hospital. The portal noted that it is not known whether Kalesnikava is in the hospital for treatment or he was brought there only for a meeting.
Kalesnikava was last allowed to see her father in December 2022. Since February 2023, the opposition has been kept in total isolation, and his relatives and human rights organizations have expressed concern that his relatives will not be able to get information about him. The lawyer was not allowed to visit her and the parcels were not collected.
In his recent interview with Alexander Lukashenko, BBC reporter Steve Rosenberg raised this issue. The Belarusian leader denied any ban and tried to argue that Kalesnikava was treated like “a million” other prisoners and that her family could meet her.
The leading opposition of Belarus
Maria Kalesnikava was one of the prominent figures of banker Viktor Babarika's headquarters, who planned to participate in the 2020 presidential election as Lukashenko's opponent. When Babarika was arrested and imprisoned, Kalesnikava joined the team of opposition candidate Svyatlana Cikhanuska.
After the fraudulent election, security officials took Kalesnikava to the border and intended to force her to leave the country. This activist tore up his passport and was then arrested and imprisoned. A year later, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison. for “anti-government and extremism”.
Main image source: x.com/Tsihanouskaya
