Lukashenko ready to consider pardoning high-profile political prisoner

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko would consider pardoning jailed opposition activist Maria Kalesnikava if she were to petition him, he told a BBC correspondent on Wednesday.

In the interview recorded at the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan, the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg raised the fate of Kalesnikava since there had been no contact with her for more than a year and a half. Neither Kalesnikava’s relatives nor human rights activists know if she is alive.

Lukashenko wondered why Rosenberg had “singled out” Kalesnikava while there were “millions in prison” in Belarus, denying that her family had not been allowed to see her. “What family? Where is her family, do you even know? … You care for her more than her relatives and friends,” Lukashenko added, noting that if Kalesnikava’s relatives wanted to visit her, the Belarusian authorities would “consider it”.

The last time a family member was allowed to visit Kalesnikava was in late 2022, when her father saw her after she underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer. They were given 10 minutes together, supervised by a doctor and prison staff.

Speaking to journalists after the interview, Kalesnikava’s sister, Tatiana Khomich, said she had not had contact with her for almost a year and eight months. Relatives have not been able to see her since her father’s visit and they stopped receiving letters in February 2023.

Kalesnikava worked at the headquarters of opposition candidate Viktar Babaryka in the Belarus 2020 presidential election, which ended with mass protests against Lukashenko, and then a huge crackdown against his opponents. After Babaryka was arrested, Kalesnikava worked on the team of Lukashenko’s main rival, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

Kalesnikava chose not to leave the country amid the government’s crackdown on opposition figures and was subsequently arrested. A Minsk court sentenced her to 11 years in prison in September 2021 for conspiracy to seize power, threatening national security and creating an extremist group.

Franak Viačorka, chief political advisor to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, commented on the interview on X on Wednesday, pointing out that Lukashenko’s “dictatorial recipe” included jailing Kalesnikava for 11 years, torturing her and keeping her completely incommunicado, denying her family visits, and then saying neither Kalesnikava nor her family want to see each other.