Ailing and silenced in prison, Belarus activist symbolizes the nation's repression
The last time any of Maria Kolesnikova’s family had contact with the imprisoned Belarusian opposition activist was more than 18 months ago
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The last time any of Maria Kolesnikova's family had contact with the imprisoned Belarusian opposition activist was more than 18 months ago. Fellow inmates at the penal colony reported hearing her plead for medical help from inside her tiny and smelly cell.
Her father, Alexander Kolesnikov, told The Associated Press by phone from Minsk that he knows she's seriously ill and tried to visit her several months ago at the facility near Gomel, where she is serving an 11-year sentence, but has failed whenever he goes there.
On his last attempt, he said the warden told him, “If she doesn't call or doesn't write, that means she doesn't want to.”
The 42-year-old musician-turned-activist is known to have been hospitalized in Gomel in May or June, but the outcome was unclear, said a former prisoner who identified herself only as Natalya because she feared retaliation from authorities.
