Belarus: End Torturous Isolation Of Kalesnikava
Maryia Kalesnikava is a prominent political activist, protest leader and musician that in 2020 became the symbol of the peaceful protest movement for political change and human rights in Belarus after many political opponents were arbitrarily arrested or arbitrarily disqualified as candidates from the presidential election on 9 August. Together with Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Veranika Tsapkala, Maryia Kalesnikava formed an all-female trio who led an electoral challenge to, and galvanized mass protest vote against, the incumbent Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Veranika Tsapkala left Belarus on 9 August 2020 for fear of reprisals. Following Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s forced exile on 10 August 2020, Maryia Kalesnikava emerged as the highest-profile opposition figure in Belarus. She appeared on the frontline of numerous peaceful protests, repeatedly confronted abusive police officers, gave numerous media interviews and continued to support individuals who were arbitrarily detained and tortured in detention.
Maryia Kalesnikava was forcibly disappeared on 7 September 2020. It transpired later that she was abducted by law enforcement officers and taken to the border with Ukraine where she refused to leave Belarus and tore her passport in protest. She was then placed in detention as a criminal suspect together with her close associate Maksim Znak, and later convicted in closed trial of crimes against the state.
Maryia Kalesnikava’s condition of detention, including incommunicado detention, prolonged solitary confinement and denial of medical care, are in reprisal for her prominent role in the peaceful protests against the authorities. According to international human rights standards, incommunicado detention where an individual is detained without access to the outside world should be prohibited altogether. Incommunicado detention facilitates torture and other ill-treatment and enforced disappearance. Depending on the circumstances, it can itself constitute torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Also, under international human rights law, prolonged solitary confinement amounts to torture when the individual is confined for 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact for a time period in excess of 15 consecutive days.
Maryia Kalesnikova’s family last heard from her in February 2023. Since then, she has not been allowed calls, visits or even letters. The authorities have also targeted lawyers who agreed to represent those in detention, including by arbitrarily disbarring three lawyers in retaliation for representing Maryia Kalesnikova: Aliaksandr Pylchenka, Liudmila Kazak, and Uladzimir Pylchenka. Currently, Maryia Kalesnikova has no legal representation.
According to latest scrapes of information from confidential sources, Maryia Kalesnikova is malnourished due to the prison food which is unsuitable for her medical condition, and has lost a lot of weight currently weighing only 45 kilograms. The prison rules only allow her to buy food from the prison shop once every ten days, for a maximum of 40 or 80 rubles (around US$ 12-25). She has no access to refrigerator.