Maria Kalesnikava
Detained: September 7, 2020.
Charges: Art. 361 of the Criminal Code: Calls for actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus, Art. 357 of the Criminal Code: Conspiracy to seize power in an unconstitutional way, Art. 361-1 of the Criminal Code: Creation of an extremist formation, or participation in it.
Sentence: 11 years in prison.
Biography: Maria Kalesnikava is a prominent politician, musician, and a member of the Belarusian Presidium of Coordination Council. After her kidnapping and incarceration by the Belarusian regime, Kalesnikava’s health has deteriorated significantly, and she has been held incommunicado since February 15, 2023.
Maria Kalesnikava previously served as an art director of the OK16 cultural hub in Minsk, which aimed to foster cultural creative projects and economically empower Belarusians. In May of 2020 she became the head of opposition candidate Viktar Babaryka's presidential campaign. Following Babaryka's detention by the Lukashenka regime in June 2020, Kalesnikava, along with the spouse of another disqualified opposition candidate, joined forces in July 2020 with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, uniting all three campaigns behind her candidacy. After Lukashenka declared himself the winner of the fraudulent Belarusian presidential election in August 2020, Maria Kalesnikava joined the Coordination Council, a quickly established by a group of civic leaders to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power. On August 31, 2020, Maria Kalesnikava announced that she started a new political party “Razam”.
On September 7, 2020, Belarusian security forces kidnapped Maria Kalesnikava along with two other members of the Council and brought them to the Belarusian-Ukrainian border to expel them. In defiance, Kalesnikava jumped out of the car and tore up her passport in neutral territory. The security forces arrested her once she walked back to Belarusian soil and accused her of criminal offense under Art. 361 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus.
In Kalesnikava’s complaint against the security forces who kidnapped her, she states that the KGB and the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs threatened her life and promised to deprive her of liberty for up to 25 years if she did not leave Belarus. During pretrial detention her contact with the outside world was limited. By Kalesnikava’s description, the conditions in pretrial captivity involved “hot and then cold cells, without air or light, without people. A whole year with nothing."
The Investigative Committee of Belarus accused Kalesnikava of a conspiracy to seize power by unconstitutional means (Article 357 of the Criminal Code) and the creation of an extremist formation (Article 361-1) as a member of the Coordination Council around December 21, 2020. On September 6, 2021, Minsk District Court Judge Serge Epikhov found Maria Kalesnikava guilty of the above-mentioned crimes and guilty under Article 361 (calls for action against national security), sentencing her to 11 years in a general-security penal colony. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence on December 24, 2021. Kalesnikava was transferred to penal colony No, 4 in Homel on January 11, 2022. On May 22, 2022, the KBG added Maria Kalesnikava to the list of persons involved in terrorist and extremist activities.
In November 2022, Kalesnikava was placed in a freezing punishment cell. She barely slept, walking around the tiny cell to keep warm. She lost consciousness, fainting in the shower, experiencing high blood pressure and nausea. The Delegation for Relations with Belarus of the European Parliament issued a statement calling for the Lukashenka regime to grant Kalesnikava immediate and unimpeded access to medical care. On November 28, 2022, despite her worsening symptoms, the colony extended her stay in the punishment cell for another 10 days and forbade contact with her lawyer. On the same day, Kalesnikava experienced severe pain in her stomach and collapsed. The colony administration transferred her to the Homel hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery. The hospital diagnosed Kalesnikava with a perforated ulcer and peritonitis. Both conditions are life-threatening. The long-term treatment of the conditions requires a special diet, which the penal colony reportedly does not accommodate. According to recent information obtained by Kalesnikava’s sister, Maria’s weight has dropped to 99 pounds (45 kilograms), significantly below her normal weight of around 165 pounds (75 kilograms). Continued incarceration in inhumane conditions with inadequate medical care is detrimental to Kalesnikava’s health and a danger to her life. In mid-January 2023, Kalesnikava was discharged from the medical unit and put to work.
Since February of 2023, the colony administration denied Kalesnikava all access to the outside world, including communication with her family and lawyers, holding her incommunicado. Through released former political prisoners from the colony, it is known that by the end of March 2023, Kalesnikava was back in solitary confinement. Former political prisoners report that guards always accompany Kalesnikava everywhere, even the restroom. She can no longer work and is denied a proper diet.
Advocates: Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Advocacy Partner: Freedom House