At a ceremony in Strasbourg, France, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe awarded him its ninth Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize, which recognizes outstanding civil society action in favor of human rights. of man. The prize is worth 60,000 euros ($ 70,160).

Belarus has been rocked by months of protests after President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term after the August 2020 presidential vote that the opposition and the West denounced as a sham. He ordered a massive crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police.

“By opposing a regime that has chosen force and brutality over peaceful and legitimate protests, Ms. Kolesnikova has shown that she is willing to risk her own safety for a cause greater than herself – she has demonstrated of real courage, ”said assembly chairman Rik Daems. said handing over the award.

Accepting the award on behalf of her sister, Tatsiana Khomich said: “This award is a sign of solidarity of the whole democratic world with the Belarusian people. It is also a sign for us Belarusians that the international community supports us and that we are on the right track.

Kolesnikova, 39, is a key opposition activist. She appeared at political rallies, fearlessly marching to the ranks of riot police and making her signature gesture – a heart formed by her hands.

The former flautist of the Belarusian Philharmonic Orchestra led the campaign of Viktor Babariko, the head of a Russian capital bank who tried to challenge Lukashenko, but he was excluded from the race after being jailed for money laundering money and tax evasion which he dismissed as policy.

Kolesnikova then teamed up with former English teacher Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was standing in place of her imprisoned husband Sergei, an opposition blogger, as the main candidate against Lukashenko, and Veronika Tsepkalo, the wife of another potential candidate who fled the country for fear of being arrested. .

The three appeared together at colorful campaign events that contrasted sharply with Lukashenko’s Soviet-style gatherings.

In September 2020, KGB agents drove Kolesnikova to the Belarusian-Ukrainian border in an attempt to deport him. In the neutral zone between the two countries, she managed to tear up her passport, got out of the car and returned to Belarus, where she was immediately arrested.

The Council of Europe has 47 member countries, including Russia but not Belarus, and is the continent’s main human rights body. It is not part of the European Union.