It's been 434 days since the family of imprisoned Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova heard from her, her relatives said Wednesday, on the activist's 42nd birthday. Kolesnikova, who is serving 11 years in prison for helping organize anti-government protests in Belarus in 2020, and other imprisoned opposition figures have been held incommunicado for months on end, raising fears for their well-being. “It's the fourth birthday that Maria spends behind bars, and recently we received information that her health is deteriorating and we don't know if she's being treated at all,” her sister Tatsiana Khomich told Belarusian media.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged democracies to “show their teeth” after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a Russian prison. The same week, a fifth Belarusian political prisoner died in custody. Meanwhile, early balloting for parliamentary elections in Belarus starts, with Lukashenko's law enforcers preparing to detain citizens if they cause “disruption at polling stations.”
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko enacts restrictive religious law, mandating re-registration of every religious organization in the country and broadening grounds for their banning. Belarus refuses to let OSCE observe parliamentary elections, citing alleged "dominance of Western representatives in OSCE missions" and sanctions policies. Belarus and Sweden recall their emissaries in a diplomatic clash due to the appointment of a Swedish special envoy to the exiled Belarusian democratic movement.
President Biden said in a statement Monday his administration is developing "appropriate options" in coordination with the EU to hold Belarus accountable following the country's diversion of a flight to arrest an opposition leader.Driving the news: Earlier Monday, the European Council called for an independent investigation into the episode, the submission of sanctions proposals and advised EU-based carriers to avoid and airspace.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeThe big picture: A Ryanair flight en route from Greece to Lithuania was forced by Belarusian air control to land in Belarus' capital Minsk Sunday, under the pretext of "a potential security risk on board."Belarusian authorities then detained Raman Pratasevich, a journalist and activist who was critical in organizing mass anti-government protests in Belarus last year, and his partner Sofia Sapega.Belarus' actions have been descr
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