While 30 political prisoners were pardoned on Wednesday, September 4, the main opposition representatives sentenced to heavy sentences are being held in solitary confinement. The case of Maria Kalesnikava, who reportedly weighs only 45 kg, is particularly worrying.
We know almost nothing about them. Just that there are 30 of them, 23 men and 7 women, and that they should very soon be released from the Belarusian prisons where they were locked up for having spoken out against the autocratic regime of Alexander Lukashenko. According to the Belarusian presidency, which pardoned them this Wednesday, September 4, “Most of them are parents of minors and young children.” A description that could fit many of the more than 1,300 political prisoners still behind bars.
Since the attempted revolution in 2020, repression has never let up in Belarus. In fact, it has gotten worse. Every month, dozens of new political prisoners are registered. In August, 53 were released and 52 were imprisoned. Some were convicted under Article 368 of the criminal code, which targets insults against Alexander Lukashenko, others are accused of financing Belarusian volunteers fighting alongside the Ukrainian army. Still others have had their sentences extended, such as Yauhen Kladаu, 41, who should have been released after serving a year for “insult” Lukashenko. The man, placed on the list of “terrorists”, is now accused of having “organized mass riots,” which could earn him fifteen years in prison.
All opposition figures who are not in exile are behind bars. Most are imprisoned in very worrying conditions. Viktor Babariko and Sergei Tikhanovski, sentenced to fourteen and eighteen years in prison respectively for daring to run for president, have been held in solitary confinement for at least a year and a half. Their relatives have had no contact with them since April 2023 for the former, and March 2023 for the latter.
Torn letters
In recent weeks, concern has been growing over the fate of Maria Kalesnikava, who has been imprisoned for eleven years. A member of the female trio that ran for the opposition in the summer of 2020, the former flautist has also been held in solitary confinement for over 550 days. In the Belarusian prison system, this does not only mean being locked up in a narrow solitary cell. She is also deprived of mattresses, blankets, pillows or warm clothing.
According to a former prisoner recently released from Gomel Penal Colony No. 4, one of only two women’s prisons in the country, Maria Kalesnikava, 42, is being subjected to particularly inhumane treatment. Guards reportedly tear up letters from her family in front of her, and other prisoners are not allowed to speak to her. “When they take Maria Kalesnikava somewhere, the whole prison is locked down, like in martial law,” This source told the independent Belarusian media outlet New hour.
“Isolation is a form of torture, used against political prisoners but also against their loved ones. The aim is to humiliate them, to make them feel abandoned so that they sink into apathy,” “We are very grateful to Franak Viachorka, the chief adviser to Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the leader of the exiled opposition. According to their information, nine prisoners have been held in solitary confinement for more than a year, including former Radio Free Europe journalist Ihar Losik, who has attempted suicide twice. “These solitary confinements are Lukashenko’s personal revenge against those who were most active. He sees Maria as a personal enemy and I don’t think he will ever forgive her. She is too popular. He wants to punish her, he wants to hurt her,” adds Franak Viatchorka.
“Hunger torture”
Maria Kalesnikava is perhaps the most outspoken woman to defy the regime. In August 2020, as the country teetered between hope for revolution and the beginning of repression, she was the only one of the opposition trio not to flee abroad. With her short peroxide blonde hair, she was everywhere, from protests to picket lines. Until her cowboy-style arrest in September 2020, when men in civilian clothes pushed her into a van and drove her and other opponents to the border with Ukraine, ordering them to leave the country. She refused, tearing up her passport and jumping out of the car that was taking her to the border. Since then, Maria Kalesnikava has been sleeping in prison and images of them have become extremely rare.
“My sister is being tortured by hunger, says her elder sister, Tatsiana Khomich, who has been in contact with former prisoners of the Gomel camp. She weighs only 45 kg and is 1.75 m tall. She is deprived of medical care and adequate nutrition.” In 2022, the former musician had already had to be taken to intensive care, suffering from an untreated ulcer. According to Tatsiana Khomich, her sister has not been allowed to receive food parcels for a year and a half and only has the equivalent of 20 euros per month to buy food and basic hygiene products.
“Isolation has a significant effect on your health. In a normal cell, you will always find something to eat, maybe a tea or a slice of bacon. Even if you don’t have any, someone will share with you. But in solitary confinement, you will only be given barley, potatoes and poor quality bread. You will lose weight very quickly,” explains Siarhei Monich, a former detainee who spent more than 150 days in solitary confinement, interviewed by the rights NGO Viasna.
“A matter of life and death”
Maria Kalesnikava’s relatives and members of the opposition in exile have objective reasons to be concerned. At least five political prisoners have died in prison over the past two years. “For Maria, it’s a matter of life and death. We have to act now. She is strong, but even the strongest people in the world can’t hold out forever in these conditions,” Franak Viatchorka is worried and is calling for a “coordinated international effort” to put pressure on the regime and obtain releases.
In July 2023, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya received an anonymous message informing her that her husband, Sergei Tikhanovskiy, had died in prison. Faced with international outcry and Tikhanovskaya’s campaign, the regime was forced to make a small concession. For the first time in months, it released images of the opponent.
