Opposition activist in custody

Schallenberg meets Kolesnikova’s sister

Maria Kolesnikova

(Bild: AP)

Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) meets the sister of imprisoned Belarusian opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova, Tatjana Chomitsch, on Monday. She is deeply concerned about her fate - the prison conditions are appalling.

Khomich has not heard from her sister for a long time. The last contact took place in February 2023, she reported on Monday. She knows from prisoners who were released last month that Maria Kolesnikova is in solitary confinement. This small, smelly cell was only equipped with a sink and a hole for a toilet. Her sister had also lost a lot of weight and weighed only 45 kilograms. She cannot receive letters, but they are torn up in front of her eyes, says Chomitsch. At least six "popular" political prisoners are being held in similar terrible conditions, including Sergei Tikhanovsky, Viktor Babariko and Maxim Snak. At least seven prisoners have died in Belarusian custody over the past four years.

Tatjana Chomitsch has come to Vienna because a performance at the Schauspielhaus is dedicated to her sister in the evening. "Belarus must not be forgotten," warns Chomitsch. She calls for pragmatism and a willingness to engage in dialog on the part of the West so that Belarus does not finally fall into the clutches of Russia.

Tatyana Khomich

(Bild: APA/AFP/INA FASSBENDER)

Kolesnikova in the legendary women's trio
Born in 1982, artist and politician Kolesnikova is one of the best-known members of the Belarusian opposition. As a formal presidential candidate, Kolesnikova formed the legendary women's trio with Verkhonika Tsepkalo and Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya, who organized an extremely successful election campaign in the summer of 2020. Massive electoral fraud led to public protests after the elections on August 9, 2020, which were brutally suppressed by the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994. The EU states no longer recognize Lukashenko's legitimacy. Many see Tikhanovskaya as the winner of the election in the ex-Soviet republic, which is allied with Russia.

Maria Kolesnikova (right), Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya (center) and Veronika Zepkalo (left)

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

While Tsikhanouskaya and Tsepkalo took the opportunity to flee abroad, Kolesnikova was extremely courageous in her resistance. After being abducted by representatives of the regime on September 7, 2020, the Belarusian citizen prevented her deportation to Ukraine by tearing up her passport. Shortly afterwards, she was officially arrested and sentenced to eleven years in prison a year later for "incitement to acts against national security".

Maria Kolesnikova

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Hopes for a pardon
Most recently, Lukashenko has repeatedly released political prisoners. According to Khomitsch, around 150 political prisoners have been pardoned since the summer. In all cases, the head of state had assured them that they had shown remorse and asked for clemency. In a recent interview with the BBC, Lukashenko expressed his openness to considering family visits or even a release for Kolesnikova if the family requested a meeting and Maria asked for a pardon. "That gives me hope," says Khomich. According to the human rights organization Vyazna, however, around 1,300 political prisoners are still in custody. At the same time, arrests are taking place again.

Sanctions and isolation policy "not successful"
 According to Chomitsch, it is important that the West reacts to these steps. European countries should recognize the releases, demand a continuation of this process and promote progress through diplomatic steps. Dialogue and diplomacy are necessary, and ambassadors in the country could also be helpful. Many countries, including Austria, are currently only represented at chargé d'affaires level in Minsk. The sanctions and isolation policies of Western countries may have had an influence, but "were ultimately unsuccessful", says the human rights activist. The Belarusian regime has learned to circumvent the sanctions. In addition, the issue of the release of political prisoners in Belarus should not be left out of possible peace negotiations for Ukraine. Many prisoners were being held in Belarus because of their support for Ukraine.