Political activist Maryia Kalesnikava has been abducted and jailed for demanding change.
Maryia challenged the repressive Belarus government. On 7 September 2020, Maryia was abducted by the Belarus authorities, detained, and later sentenced to 11 years in prison on false charges. Maryia’s family haven’t heard from her for over a year.
A professional musician, Maryia Kalesnikava has filled her life with music and art. She’s passionate about meeting people and learning from them, and dreams of a Belarus where everyone is respected and allowed to speak freely.
During the 2020 presidential elections all the leading male candidates due to run against current president Alyaksandr Lukashenka were jailed or forced to flee the country and so Maryia joined the campaign of independent presidential candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
The election was widely believed to have been rigged and Alyaksandr Lukashenka returned for his sixth term. Following the election, Svyatlana was forced into exile and Maryia emerged as the highest profile opposition figure. She stood at the front line of peaceful protests, confronting abusive police officers, and making a heart-shaped symbol with her hands in front of riot police.
On 7 September 2020, Maryia was abducted by the Belarus authorities. Dragged into a van by masked men, she was taken to the border where she was intimidated and pressured to leave the country. She escaped through the van’s window and tore up her passport to resist deportation. Maryia was arrested, detained, and later sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges including “undermining national security” and “extremism”.
Maryia is imprisoned in appalling conditions. She has limited access to the healthcare she needs. She is denied any communication with her family and is isolated from other inmates inside the prison.
Sign the petition and demand Maryia is immediately released from prison, and that her unjust conviction is overturned.