Marfa (Maria) Rabkova – coordinator of the Viasna volunteer service, human rights activist. Martha was detained along with her husband Vadim Zharomsky on the evening of September 17, 2020 and taken to the GUBOPIK (Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption). Their apartment was searched, equipment, personal money and belongings were confiscated, reports spring96.org. Vadim Zharomsky was released on the same day. Marfa Rabkova was informed that she was detained in a criminal case under Part 3 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (preparation or other preparation of persons for participation in mass disorders or financing of such activities).
Mafa (Maria) Rabkova was born in January 1995 in Dobrush, Gomel region, Belarus. After finishing school, she entered the Minsk Pedagogical University. M. Tank. However, due to her active participation in the student unrest in 2016, she was expelled from the 4th year for political reasons.
Marfa continued her education at the European Humanities University with a degree in International and European Law, where she is currently studying.
In parallel with her studies, Marta was a volunteer at the Viasna Human Rights Center for several years, and in the fall of 2019 she became a member of the Viasna Human Rights Center and the coordinator of the organization’s Volunteer Service.
With her active participation, dozens of observations of peaceful assembly of citizens were organized, more than 100 court hearings on administrative cases of detained participants of peaceful assembly were monitored, and trainings for new volunteers were organized.
In 2020, Marfa Rabkova recruited and trained short-term observers for the “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” campaign for monitoring presidential elections.
Since the beginning of the massive repressions during the election campaign, she has been actively involved in organizing assistance to repressed activists. After the tragic events of the post-election period, Marta provided assistance to arrested activists and their families, and also participated in documenting the testimony of victims of torture of detained demonstrators.
Marfa (Maria) Rabkova recognized as a political prisoner by the human rights community
