Overview
- At a ceremony in the coronation hall of Aachen City Hall, Kolesnikowa accepted the prize awarded to her in 2022 after her December 2025 release in a US-mediated prisoner deal.
- German authorities took her in after the release, and she is to receive political asylum, which she publicly thanked Germany and Europe for enabling.
- She described nearly five years of imprisonment marked by long periods of isolation, denial of contact with family and lawyers, surgery for a stomach ulcer, and severe weight loss.
- Her sister Tatsiana Khomich, who accepted the award on her behalf in 2022, ceremonially handed it to her, and Karlspreis chair Armin Laschet presented Khomich with a special plaque while calling the occasion a strong signal for democracy.
- Kolesnikowa urged Europe to engage with Belarus, warning that over 1,000 political prisoners remain detained and that without outreach younger Belarusians could drift toward Russia.