She is one of the symbols of Belarusian opposition to President Lukashenko. Maria Kolesnikova received this Monday the Vaclav-Havel Prize awarded by the Council of Europe. It rewards exceptional actions in the defense of human rights.
“This award is a sign of the solidarity of the entire democratic world with the Belarusian people. (…) It is also a clear signal to the Belarusian authorities that the world will never tolerate human rights abuses and will not accept what is happening in Belarus now. “, declared Mrs Kolesnikova’s sister, receiving this award in the Council of Europe hemicycle in Strasbourg.
“If you don’t want Belarus to turn into a gulag, we have to support the Belarusian people “, she added, holding in her hand a photo of her sister and listing the names of other imprisoned opponents of the Alexander Lukashenko regime.
Sentenced to 11 years in prison after a closed trial, Maria Kolesnikova, 39, left an impression by resisting an attempt to deport her own country.
Postponed due to the health crisis, the 2020 edition of this prize, created in 2013 and endowed with 60,000 euros, honored in April the Saudi feminist activist Loujain al-Hathloul, long imprisoned in her country.
Reference-feedproxy.google.com