Imprisoned Belarus activist Maria Kolesnikova is considering asking for a pardon, her father says

TALLINN, Estonia -- Imprisoned Belarusian opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova is considering asking the country's authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko for a pardon after more than four years behind bars, her father said Wednesday.

Alexander Kolesnikov spoke to The Associated Press a day after seeing his daughter at a prison near Gomel where the 42-year-old musician-turned-activist is serving her 11-year sentence. The meeting in the prison's hospital took place after her family and friends had not heard anything from the popular and charismatic symbol of resistance for more than 20 months.

“I finally could embrace her,” Kolesnikov said, adding that she “was in relatively normal condition.” He said he couldn’t comment further because authorities only allowed the brief meeting on condition that he not release any other details.

Kolesnikov said he and his daughter discussed the possibility of appealing to Lukashenko for a pardon. “She is thinking about it,” he said.

In November 2022, Kolesnikova was moved to an intensive care ward to undergo surgery for a perforated ulcer. Former inmates told her sister, Tatiana Khomich, that the 5-foot-9-inch Kolesnikova weighed only about 45 kilograms (100 pounds).

“We are very grateful for the permission to meet and thankful to all those involved,” Khomich told AP on Wednesday, voicing hope the authorities would allow the family to maintain contact with Kolesnikova.

A photo of Kolesnikova embracing her father was released by Raman Pratasevich, a former opposition journalist who became a government supporter after his arrest.

Lukashenko, who is seeking a seventh term in an election set for January 2025 to extend his more than 30-year rule, has released 146 political prisoners since July. Those freed had health problems, wrote petitions for pardons and said they repented.

Viasna, Belarus’ top human rights group, says there are about 1,300 political prisoners in Belarus, including the group’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning founder, Ales Bialiatsky. At least seven have died behind bars.

Other top opposition figures also were imprisoned or fled the country amid the sweeping crackdown in which about 65,000 people were arrested and thousands were brutally beaten by police.

Even as Lukashenko has pardoned some political prisoners, Belarusian authorities have launched a new wave of arrests, seeking to uproot any sign of dissent before the election.

Kolesnikova gained prominence when mass protests broke out in Belarus after the widely disputed August 2020 election gave Lukashenko a sixth term. With her close-cropped hair, broad smile and trademark gesture of forming her outstretched hands into the shape of a heart, she often was seen at the front of the demonstrations.

A classical flautist before the protests, Kolesnikova became an even more powerful symbol of defiance the next month when she tore up her passport to avoid deportation when the authorities drove her to the border. A year later, she was convicted of charges including conspiracy to seize power.

Pavel Sapelka of Viasna said allowing Kolesnikova to see her father could be a signal by Lukashenko that he’s open for a dialogue about political prisoners. "Lukashenko is waiting for Western reaction to the latest steps and is prepared to bargain ahead of January’s election,” Sapelka said.