Imprisoned Belarusian activist undergoes surgery
By YURAS KARMANAU
Associated press
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Maria Kolesnikova, a prominent member of the Belarusian opposition serving an 11-year prison sentence for helping stage anti-government protests has undergone an undisclosed surgical procedure. Her father, Alexander Kolesnikov said Wednesday that she remains in emergency care and that a doctor told him her condition has improved. Kolesnikov said that the doctor didn’t share her diagnosis or any details of the surgery with him, citing official instructions. Kolesnikova has been in custody since her arrest in September 2020, when she tore up her passport at the border to prevent her forced expulsion from Belarus amid massive protests challenging the reelection of the country’s authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko.