Jailed Belarusian opponent Kolesnikova wins European rights award

PARIS (Reuters) - Jailed Belarusian opposition leader and activist Maria Kolesnikova on Monday won the ninth Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize which honours outstanding civil society action in the defence…

Top U.S. diplomat slams ‘shameful sentencing’ of Belarus opposition figures

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday condemned the "politically motivated conviction and shameful sentencing" of Belarusian opposition figures Maria Kolesnikova and Maxim Znak. "These sentencings…

Britain says jailing of Belarus protest leaders shows Lukashenko’s pariah status

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain on Monday said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was assaulting the defenders of freedom by jailing two opposition figures. Protest leaders Maria Kolesnikova and Maxim Znak were…

EU calls for immediate release of Belarus protest leader Kolesnikova

(Reuters) - The European Union has called for the immediate release of Belarus protest leader Maria Kolesnikova after she was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Kolesnikova and her fellow…

Germany condemns Belarus oppositionists’ sentencing

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany condemned the decision of a Belarusian court to sentence protest leader Maria Kolesnikova to 11 years in prison, saying it showed how rule of law in…