Hello!
My name is Konstantin Mikhaltsov. I come from Rechitsa. I had a quiet measured life, a job and a girlfriend, but everything changed on August 9, 2020.
That day I went for a walk with my friends, and a small crowd gathered in the city center to discuss the past elections. We decided to stand around, socialize, as at one moment the officers of the bodies appeared and started taking people away point by point. I saw one guy being dragged by force, and I intervened, trying to push the policeman away.
I didn't save the guy, and it cost me three years of my life. They came to me on May 12, 2021 at 5 a.m. with a search, and that was the end of my old life. The search yielded nothing, but they still detained me for allegedly disobeying the search and gave me 10 days. When my 10 days were coming to an end, they opened a criminal case against me under Articles 342.1, 364 and 368.1 (Article 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus — organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order or active participation in them, Article 364 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus — violence or threat of violence against an employee of the internal affairs bodies, Article 368 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus — insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus). About the conditions of detention in temporary detention centers and pre-trial detention centers, I think, it's not even worth mentioning. Every Belarusian knows from the stories of hundreds of released people what hell is there.
On September 22, 2021, I was sentenced to 3 years in prison. How I spent that time in the colony and what I had to go through, I can neither remember nor describe. In February 2024, I was finally released from prison and started thinking about how to build my life anew, but it was not to be….
The constant visits of police officers for “preventive registration” began. I lived in my brother's family, where there was a small child, but they, as if on purpose, came from 12 to 3 a.m., scaring everyone. I tolerated that too. But their visits were most likely for one purpose — to find an excuse to bring me to justice again. Suddenly, they brought an administrative case against me, about which I was not even notified, but simply summoned to court via text message. I still don't know what my new charge was.
That was the last straw. I realized that I would not be left alone until I was locked up again, so I fled the country on April 3, 2024. I did not have time to earn enough money after my release, I had to live on debt, and at the moment, being in Poland, I continue to live on debt.
I just applied for international protection and without documents I can't earn my living yet. It is very hard morally to be a burden to my friends. My own country doesn't need me, and I haven't settled down in a foreign country yet. But I am sure that after giving away my debts and renting a place to live, I will be able to start all over again! I am grateful in advance for any help!
How much is needed?
€2500
€1000 rent for the first three months
€400 food
€300 clothing/household items
€800 to pay off debts