October 23, Pozirk. Alaksandar Łukašenka claims that he is willing to consider a potential petition for pardon from Maryja Kaleśnikava, his jailed opponent who has been in the spotlight since she underwent surgery two years ago.
“If there is such an appeal from Kaleśnikava, I will definitely consider it,” he told the BBC on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia, according to his press office.
Asked why Kaleśnikava is being held incommunicado, Łukašenka said her father had visited her and the rest of the family “may not be interested.”
In 2020, Kaleśnikava managed the campaign of presidential hopeful Viktar Babaryka and teamed up with Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja after his arrest. Kaleśnikava was sentenced to 11 years in prison in September 2021.
In July 2024, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women called for an end to Kaleśnikava’s incommunicado detention. It urged the Belarusian government to immediately give Kaleśnikava access to a defense attorney and let her communicate with her relatives.
Kaleśnikava has been held incommunicado for more than 560 days, while her family members are forced to seek news about her from current and former inmates, her sister Taćciana Chomič said last month. Prison wardens are slowly murdering Kaleśnikava by denying her the diet she needs and by restricting communication with her family, Chomič said.
