Marfa Rabkova ( Belarusian and russian: Марфа Рабкова; born 6 January 1995) is a Belarusian human rights activist and part of the

Viasna Human Rights Centre The Viasna Human Rights Centre ( be, Праваабарончы цэнтр «Вясна», Pravaabarončy centr «Viasna») is a human rights organization based in Minsk, Belarus. The organization aims to provide financial and legal assistance to ...

. In 2020 she was arrested by the Belarusian authorities for her activism and sent to the pre-trial prison SIZO No. 1. In 2021 she was awarded the

Homo Homini Award The Homo Homini Award (Latin: "A human to another human") is given annually by the Czech human rights organization People in Need to "an individual in recognition of a dedication to the promotion of human rights, democracy and non-violent solutions ...

together with three other arrested Belarusian human rights activists.

Biography

Marfa (Maria) Rabkova was born in 1995. She attended the Belarusian State Pedagogical University but was forced to withdraw after being detained on a march near a university building. 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. In 2017 she entered the

European Humanities University be, Еўрапейскі гуманітарны ўніверсітэт , image_name = European Humanities University 2019 3.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption = , latin_name = , motto ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, Lithuania. In 2019 she became a manager of the volunteers' network of

in Belarus. In 2020 Rabkova volunteered with the Viasna Human Rights Centre over the course of the

2020 Belarusian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Belarus on Sunday, 9 August 2020. Early voting began on 4 August and ran until 8 August. Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko was announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC) to have won a sixth term in off ...

. At the start of the mass protests, she began to document evidence of torture and abuse by the Belarusian authorities. She was detained on 17 September 2020. On 19 September 2021 she was transferred to SIZO No. 1 in Minsk. Several Belarusian human rights groups recognized her as a political prisoner. International human rights organizations Amnesty International, Front Line Defenders, and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders demanded her immediate release. Bundestag member Agnieszka Brugger became her "godfather". 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. According to her husband, she lost 20kg in prison, contracted COVID-19, and started to experience fainting and low blood pressure. She also wasn't allowed to attend her father's funeral. Initially, Rabkova was charged under article 293 of the

Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

(part 3, "Training or other preparation of persons for participation in mass riots, or financing of this activity"). On 11 February 2021 she was charged with two other articles — 130 ("Incitement to hatred") and 285 (part 2, "Participation in a criminal organization"). Based on these charges, she faced the possibility of being imprisoned for up to 12 years. In 2021 Rabkova was awarded the

together with three other arrested Belarusian human rights activists.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rabkova, Marfa 1995 births Living people Belarusian women activists Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Belarus Belarusian political prisoners 21st-century Belarusian women Political prisoners according to Viasna Human Rights Centre