UN committee demands end to Kaleśnikava’s incommunicado detention

July 26, Pozirk. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women has called for an end to the incommunicado detention of Maryja Kaleśnikava, politician Viktar Babaryka’s team said on Telegram.

The committee also called on the Belarusian government to immediately give Kaleśnikava access to a defense attorney and let her communicate with her relatives.

The complaint was filed by Lithuanian-based human rights organization Respect-Protect-Fulfill.

The organization said it believed in the power of regular reminders, noting that gender equality could not be achieved through baseless statements alone.

Kaleśnikava, a spokeswoman and campaign manager for Babaryka, a banker who challenged Alaksandar Łukašenka in the presidential election in 2020, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in September 2021.

After the former banker’s arrest, she joined Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja’s team and became a member of a campaign team that also included Vieranika Capkała, the wife of presidential hopeful Valeryj Capkała.

In November 2022, Kaleśnikava underwent emergency surgery at a Homiel hospital, where she was taken in serious condition.

She was diagnosed with peritonitis, a complication of a perforated ulcer. Since wardens keep her incommunicado, her condition is unknown.

On April 11, the Palitviazynka human rights project said the politician had serious health issues, including high blood pressure. Authorities are not providing her with adequate medical attention, it said.

In March, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women called on Belarus to urgently protect prisoner Palina Šarenda-Panasiuk.

Viktar Babaryka is serving a 14-year sentence in a medium-security penal colony.

Also read: Freedom House: incommunicado detention may constitute a crime against humanity