Marfa Rabkova | |
|---|---|
Марфа Рабкова | |
 | |
| Born | (1995-01-06)6 January 1995 (age 30) |
| Nationality | Belarusian |
| Citizenship | Belarusian |
| Organization | Viasna Human Rights Centre |
| Known for | 2021 imprisonments |
Marfa Rabkova (Belarusian andRussian:Марфа Рабкова; born 6 January 1995) is a Belarusian human rights activist who works for theViasna Human Rights Centre. In 2020 she was arrested by the Belarusian authorities for her activism and sent to the pre-trial prisonSIZO No. 1. In 2021 she was awarded theHomo Homini Award together with three other arrested Belarusian human rights activists.
Marfa (Maria) Rabkova was born in 1995.[1] She attended theBelarusian State Pedagogical University but was forced to withdraw after being detained on a march near a university building.[2] She then enrolled at the A. Kuleshov Mogilev State University but claimed that she was unable to complete her studies and find a job due to pressure from the authorities.[2] In 2017 she entered theEuropean Humanities University inVilnius, Lithuania.[2] In 2019 she became a manager of the volunteers' network ofViasna Human Rights Centre in Belarus.[2]
In 2020 Rabkova volunteered with the Viasna Human Rights Centre over the course of the2020 Belarusian presidential election.[3] At the start of themass protests, she began to documentevidence of torture and abuse by the Belarusian authorities.[3] She was detained on 17 September 2020.[1] On 19 September 2021 she was transferred toSIZO No. 1 in Minsk.[1] Several Belarusian human rights groups recognized her as a political prisoner.[1] International human rights organizationsAmnesty International,Front Line Defenders, and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders demanded her immediate release.[1] Bundestag memberAgnieszka Brugger became her "godmother".[4] In the pre-trial prison her health worsened; she complained about abdominal pain, tooth pain, and inflammation of the lymph nodes but did not get adequate medical treatment.[5] According to her husband, she lost 20 kg in prison, contracted COVID-19, and started to experience fainting and low blood pressure.[6] She also wasn't allowed to attend her father's funeral.[6]
Initially, Rabkova was charged under article 293 of theCriminal Code (part 3, "Training or other preparation of persons for participation in mass riots, or financing of this activity").[1] On 11 February 2021 she was charged with two other articles — 130 ("Incitement to hatred") and 285 (part 2, "Participation in a criminal organization").[1] Based on these charges, she faced the possibility of being imprisoned for up to 12 years.[1]
In 2021 Rabkova was awarded theHomo Homini Award together with three other arrested Belarusian human rights activists.[7]
On September 6, 2022, Rabkova was sentenced to 15 years in a general-security penal colony and a fine of 22,400 Belarusian rubles (more than $8,800). On February 28, 2023, the Supreme Court changed the final sentence for Rabkova into 14 years and 9 months of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony.[8]