Marfa Rabkova (

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

and russian: Марфа Рабкова; born 6 January 1995) is a Belarusian human rights activist and part of the Viasna Human Rights Centre. 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 together with three other arrested Belarusian human rights activists.

Biography

Marfa (Maria) Rabkova was born in 1995. She attended the

Belarusian State Pedagogical University Maksim Tank Belarusian State Pedagogical University also known as BSPU ( be, Беларускі дзяржаўны педагагічны ўніверсітэт імя Максіма Танка) is a university in Minsk, Belarus. It specialises in ...

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 u ...

, Lithuania. In 2019 she became a manager of the volunteers' network of Viasna Human Rights Centre 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 offi ...

. 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 Front Line Defenders, or The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, is an Irish-based human rights organisation founded in Dublin, Ireland in 2001 to protect those who work non-violently to uphold the human rights ...

, and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders demanded her immediate release. Bundestag member

Agnieszka Brugger Agnieszka Brugger (née Malczak, born 8 February 1985) is a German politician (Alliance 90/The Greens) of Polish origin who has been serving as a member of the German Bundestag since 2009. Early life and education Brugger grew up in Dortmund, w ...

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 migh ...

(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 Homo Homini Award 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