Maria Kolesnikova was one of the leaders of the mass street protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko last year. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Monday (September 6), causing Western countries to Strongly protested.
In September, the 39-year-old Kolesnikova tore up her passport during a standoff at the Ukrainian border to prevent Belarusian security forces from deporting her.
During the August 2020 presidential election, the musician-born politician became one of the faces of the mass opposition movement, which protesters said was manipulated to expand Lukashenko’s control of power.
Lukashenko denied election fraud and has served in the former Soviet Republic since 1994. Since launching violent suppression of opponents, he has been facing new sanctions from the West.
Kolesnikova and another senior opposition figure, Maxim Znak, were accused of extremism and attempted to illegally seize power. Both denied wrongdoing, and Kolesnikova called the allegations absurd.
Znak was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Znak’s lawyer told reporters that both prisoners will appeal the verdict.
The European Union condemned the decision, while the British Foreign Minister called it an attack on the defenders of democracy.
An EU spokesperson said in a statement: “The EU regrets that the Minsk regime continues to blatantly ignore the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Belarusian people.”
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Brinken said that the United States condemned the “politically motivated convictions and shameful sentences” of the two, and said the charges against them were false.
“These judgments are further proof that the regime completely ignores the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Belarusian people,” Brinken said in a statement.
Poland condemned the verdict as a violation of human rights to intimidate the people of Belarus. Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said on Twitter: “This kind of repression should not be unanswered.”
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Belarus denies human rights violations and portrays the protesters as a violent revolution supported by foreign forces.
Video from the Belarusian satellite channel shows that before the sentence, the two prisoners were kept in a glass cage. Kolesnikova raised her handcuffed hands, made her iconic heart-shaped sign, and smiled at the camera.
The exiled opposition figure Svyatlana Zihanusskaya wrote on Twitter: “Maria and Maxim are heroes of the Belarusians. The regime wants us to see them crushed and exhausted. But You see—they are smiling and dancing.”
“They know-we will release them earlier than these 11 years. Their terms should not scare us-Maxim and Maria won’t want this,” she added.
The trial began last month and was closed to the public on grounds of national security. Details of the case, investigators and witnesses were not disclosed. According to several videos circulating on social media, dozens of people came to the court building on Monday.
Kolesnikova was one of tens of thousands of people detained after the protest began.
She is one of three women, all new to politics. After high-profile male candidates were banned from running, they joined forces to participate in the campaign against Lukashenko last year.
Viktor Babariko was one of those who tried to oppose Lukashenko. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison in July.
