The family of imprisoned Belarusian opposition figure hasn't heard from her for a year

The family of imprisoned Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova says it hasn't received a letter from her for a year

TALLINN, Estonia -- It’s been a year since the family of imprisoned Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova received a letter from her, and no one has seen or heard from her since then, her relatives and Western officials said Wednesday.

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.

With her short-cropped hair and vibrant smile, Kolesnikova was famous for appearing at demonstrations and forming a heart with her hands.

“I can only pray that my daughter is alive, because the administration of the prison in (the city of) Gomel is not allowing visitation and is not responding to my letters and requests,” Kolesnikova’s father, Alexander Kolesnikov told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Minsk, the Belarusian capital.

Belarus was rocked by mass protests after an election in 2020 that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko his sixth term in office — a vote that was denounced by the West and the opposition as fraudulent. Authorities responded by arresting more than 35,000 people and brutally beating thousands of them. Many top opposition figures were arrested and given long prison terms, while others fled abroad.