Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize for 2021 goes to Belorussian opposition activist Maria Kalesnikava

The Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize for 2021 has gone to the jailed Belorussian opposition activist Maria Kalesnikava. Kalesnikava as is described as one of the three female symbols of the Belarusian opposition and its people’s struggle for civil and political liberties and fundamental rights.”

Kalesnikava has been in detention in Minsk since September 2020, charged with conspiracy to seize power. The Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize is awarded every year by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Vaclav Havel Library and the Charter 77 Foundation to honor outstanding civil society work in defense of human rights.