Belarusian dissident Kolesnikova receives German Charlemagne Prize

Belarusian opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova, whose leading role in the country's mass anti-government protests in 2020 saw her jailed for five years, received Germany's prestigious International Charlemagne Prize on Saturday.

Upon accepting the award in the western city of Aachen, Kolesnikova called on Europe to hold fast to its values in the current "time of great uncertainty."

Kolesnikova, who was released from prison late last year, was originally awarded the prize in 2022 alongside fellow opposition leaders Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Veronica Tsepkalo for their courage and commitment to democracy and freedom, but was unable to accept it due to her imprisonment.

"It is precisely now that we see what Europe is truly made of," the 43-year-old said in her acceptance speech at Aachen Town Hall.

"Not power, not fear, not violence. But people who stand together, people who preserve dignity, people who defend freedom."

Sometimes, she said, the "voice of aggression" seems to be the loudest. "Our voices must be stronger."

A trained flautist, Kolesnikova was a leading figure in mass protests that erupted after long-time ruler Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in widely disputed 2020 elections.

The demonstrations were violently crushed, and thousands of opposition supporters, including Kolesnikova, put into prison.

Following pressure from the US, she was released alongside more than 120 political prisoners in December and has since been living in Berlin.

Kolesnikova also used her speech to highlight that more than 1,000 political prisoners remain behind bars in her home country, saying she was also "speaking on their behalf today."

Aachen Mayor Michael Ziemons recalled how Kolesnikova appeared in court in 2021, forming a heart with her shackled hands.

"This heart has become a symbol," he said. A symbol of "the power of human will that does not bow to injustice."

The International Charlemagne Prize is intended to honour laureates for services to European unity.

Previous recipients of the award, handed out by the city of Aachen since 1950, include Winston Churchill, pope Francis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took home the award in 2025 and former Italian prime minister and ex-head of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi is set to receive this year's prize in May.

The prize is named after Charlemagne (748-814), whose empire extended over a large part of Western Europe. He often resided in Aachen, which is located near what is now Germany's border with Belgium and the Netherlands.

Kolesnikova also gave some insights into her imprisonment, saying she used the time to read over 700 books, including by Shakespeare, Goethe and Hannah Arendt.

"With books, you never feel alone," Kolesnikova told dpa in Aachen.

She said she spent some two-and-a-half years in solitary confinement while imprisoned in Belarus and was not allowed any contact with the outside world for about three years.

"That means I didn't receive any letters from my family, no phone calls, no parcels. I simply didn't hear anything from my family and friends, and they didn't receive any news from me at all."

While she was isolated in prison, the solitude allowed her to focus entirely on her books, Kolesnikova said. "In my mind, in my soul, I wasn't in prison for a single minute; only my body was in the cell. I always felt free, and that helped me to keep going all those years."