At the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Belarus’s permanent representative to international organizations Larisa Bielskaya snatched photographs of Belarusian political prisoners from the hands of former political prisoner Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk. A video of the incident was published by the human rights center Viasna.
Sharenda-Panasiuk approached Bielskaya while the latter was speaking about how women are loved and valued in Belarus. She was holding photographs of political prisoners Volha Maiorava, who risks completely losing her eyesight while behind bars, and Alena Lazarchyk. In response, Bielskaya tore the photos from her hands.
Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk was sentenced in 2021 to two years in prison. Subsequently, her sentence was extended three times by one year each for “malicious disobedience to the prison administration.” In February 2025 she was released and soon afterward left Belarus.
