Maria Kalesnikava

Maria Kalesnikava (Marya Alyaksandrauna Kalesnikava, , ; Maria Aleksandrovna Kolesnikova, Russian: Мария Александровна Колесникова, ; born 24 April 1982) is a Belarusian professional flautist and political activist. In 2020, she headed Viktar Babaryka's electoral campaign during presidential elections of 2020 in Belarus. Kalesnikava represented the united campaign of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, then she became a member of the presidium of the Coordination Council formed during the 2020 Belarusian protests in opposition to the regime of Alexander Lukashenko. She is also a founder of the 'Razam' political party.

Kalesnikava was kidnapped by unidentified law enforcement officers on 7 September 2020. Early in the morning of 8 September 2020, she was by force taken to the Ukraine country border. Kalesnikava was intimidated and pressured to leave the country, but while being on neutral ground she got off the car from the rear window, tore her local passport to pieces and went back on foot. On Belarusian territory she was arrested immediately. On the next day, Maxim Znak, Kalesnikava's attorney, was also detained. On 11 September 2020, Amnesty International recognized Kalesnikava as a prisoner of conscience. She was awarded the International Women of Courage Award in 2021.

On 6 September 2021, Kalesnikava was sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for her political activity.

She was last heard from on 12 February 2023. Provided by Wikipedia