Jailed Belarus opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova ‘in intensive care’ - The Guardian

The jailed Belarusian absorption person Maria Kolesnikova has been admitted to intensive attraction and undergone surgery, her allies person said.

“Maria is successful the exigency infirmary successful Gomel, successful the intensive attraction unit,” said the property work of Viktor Babaryko, different absorption politician.

Kolesnikova father, Alexander Kolesnikov, said his girl was successful a sedate but unchangeable condition. The doctors didn’t stock her diagnosis oregon immoderate different details with him astir the surgery, Kolesnikov said.

He noted that his girl looked energetic and cheerful erstwhile helium past visited her successful situation astir a period ago.

Kolesnikova’s lawyer said she had been placed successful a penitentiary compartment earlier she was taken to the hospital. He didn’t elaborate connected her condition.

The lawyer said that authorities had repeatedly rejected his requests to spot Kolesnikova astatine the situation she was being held at.

Kolesnikova was 1 of a trio of pistillate leaders – with Veronika Tsepkalo and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya – who led historical demonstrations against the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko successful 2020. Massive rallies broke retired crossed Belarus against Lukashenko’s assertion to a sixth statesmanlike term.

Kolesnikova was jailed for 11 years aft resisting expulsion from Belarus. In September 2020, the country’s KGB information work drove her to the Ukrainian borderline aft putting a sack implicit her caput and pushing her into a minibus, but astatine the frontier Kolesnikova ripped up her passport truthful she could not beryllium deported.

Lukashenko’s ace down connected the protests led to thousands of arrests and the forced exile oregon imprisonment of activists and journalists.

“What unspeakable news. Our beloved Masha, we each anticipation that you volition beryllium alright!” said Tsikhanouskaya, person of the absorption successful exile. Kolesnikova, 40, is the lone 1 of the 3 women inactive successful Belarus.

With Associated Press and AFP