Self-exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya wrote online on February 13 that imprisoned opposition activist Maryya Kalesnikava has been held incommunicado for exactly one year. Tsikhanouskaya wrote that the last letter from Kalesnikava was written a year ago after she was hospitalized in critical condition. Kalesnikava and another opposition figure, Maksim Znak, were sentenced to prison terms of 11 years and 10 years respectively in September 2021 after being found guilty on charges of extremism, conspiracy to seize power, calls for action to damage national security, and calls for actions damaging national security, which they both rejected.
Imprisoned Belarusian Oppositionist Held Incommunicado For One Year
Belarusian opposition figure Maryya Kalesnikava (file photo)