Maria Kolesnikova
MINSK, Dec 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) —The jailed Belarusian opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova has been taken from prison and placed in intensive care in hospital, her allies say.
They say Kolesnikova, 40, is in a serious but stable condition in the eastern city of Gomel after having surgery on Monday.
She was jailed for 11 years in 2021, after mass protests at the discredited re-election of Belarus’ leader Alexander Lukashenko a year before.
Kolesnikova’s Twitter account, run by her allies, wrote that “Maria was transferred to hospital…and operated on 28 November.
“Now she is in a stable, serious condition with improvement. 30 November she was transferred to the surgical department.”
Belarus’ opposition groups and jailed opposition politician Viktor Babariko made similar comments. Her lawyer was earlier not allowed to visit her, reports say.
Belarus’ prison authorities have not commented.
Mass street protests swept Belarus soon after Lukashenko was declared the winner of the presidential elections in 2020. The opposition says the results were falsified, and the real winner was Svetlana Tikhanovskaya who was forced into exile. — NNN-AGENCIES
