Фото: ORF
Former political prisoner Maria Kalesnikava personally accepted an honorary professorship from the Mozarteum University Salzburg. The title was awarded to her four years ago, when she was still imprisoned in Belarus, ORF reports.
“I learned about the honorary title from a letter from my sister. It was the last message I received. After that, no more letters came. This letter connected me with my family, with music and with people outside the prison walls. This letter reminded me that people were thinking about me and that I still belonged to this world,” the broadcaster quoted her as saying.
University Rector Constanze Wimmer noted that Kalesnikava became the first honorary professor in the history of the institution, and that the title would now be permanently associated with her.
In the future, Maria Kalesnikava will spend a considerable amount of time in Salzburg, where she will teach and work on her dissertation.