US EditionMaria Kalesnikava: Icon of Defiance and Freedom
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3 Articles
Maria Kalesnikava: Icon of Defiance and Freedom
Maria Kalesnikava, Belarusian opposition icon and political prisoner, defied expulsion efforts by tearing her passport. A former flautist-turned-politician, she was sentenced to 11 years for her anti-Lukashenko campaign. In 2024, she faced harsh prison conditions, but was released after negotiations involving U.S. envoy John Coale.
Maryja Kalesnikava was a well-known face of the Belarusian opposition in the 2020 elections. Along with her, the regime also released Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Byalyatsky and other political prisoners.
Kidnapped from the street by masked officers on September 7 of that year, the opposition activist was put in a van, taken to the Ukrainian border and threatened with deportation “alive or in pieces.” She tore her passport into small pieces to thwart an attempt to deport her. Later, at her trial, she smiled and danced in a cage in the courtroom. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges that included conspiracy to seize power and was lat…
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