Maria wins unity prize

Prominent Belarus opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova on Saturday picked up a prize for contributions to European unity that she was unable to collect while in prison in her homeland four years ago. Kolesnikova was presented with the International Charlemagne Prize at a ceremony in Aachen, Germany. She won the prize in 2022, when it was received on her behalf by her sister, Tatsiana Khomich. Kolesnikova was a key figure in the mass protests that rocked Belarus in 2020. She was a close ally of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the opposition leader who was forced into exile after challenging authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in that year’s vote. With her close-cropped hair, broad smile and a gesture of forming her outstretched hands into the shape of a heart, she was often seen at the front of demonstrations.