Belarusian opposition leader Kolesnikova jailed in intensive care after surgery for obscure reason

According to members of the Belarusian opposition to the regime, Kolesnikova underwent surgery on Monday. She had previously spent some time in a “punishment cell”. Whether that had anything to do with the reason for her surgery, her allies don’t know, who don’t even know why she had the surgery. However, her health was fine until recently, say Kolesnikova’s sister and father. His lawyer has not been allowed to visit him in prison for two weeks.

Kolesnikova is the last left-wing opposition leader in Belarus. Others, like Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who ran against Lukashenko in the election, fled abroad or were deported. To avoid this scenario, Kolesnikova tore up her passport in September 2020 when Belarusian agents attempted to transfer her across the border to Ukraine.

She was involved in organizing large-scale protests against Lukashenko, who claimed a new term as president after a fraudulent election in August 2020. In those elections, Kolesnikova first served as the politician’s campaign manager. opposition Viktor Babariko. After her capture, she joined Tikhanovskaya’s campaign.

Conspiracy

Tens of thousands of people were arrested during protests against the regime after the elections. A year later, Kolesnikova was convicted. According to the regime, she was involved in a plot to seize power in the country, threatened security and founded an extremist organization.

Before being tried, Kolesnikova said she was offered a chance for amnesty. Then she should have pleaded guilty and apologized in a staged interview on state media. Freedom is worth fighting for. Do not be afraid to be free”, she wrote in response to this request from the prison.