In 2020, I participated in peaceful protests and volunteered in an organization that arranged to collect basic necessities for detainees. I was graduating from university (from which I was expelled for “political reasons”), working and believing in the best.
In the middle of 2021, I was prosecuted under article 342 part 1 for a photo that journalists had taken of me at the march in August 2020. Unsuspecting nothing, I was detained by the officers of GUBOPIK and was sent to Okrestina.
I cannot go into detail about what happened on Okrestina, because to this day I have nightmares and it is hard for me to remember what I went through (like many Belarusians). Thanks to my family, after a week I was released on bail to my parents' house.
I decided to flee the country, as I could not stay there psychologically and emotionally any longer. Constant calls from the Investigative Committee summons to interrogations, and the real threat of re-incarceration. I had to urgently relocate with one backpack on my shoulders. A lot of money was spent on my treatment after Okrestin, the eternal cold made my kidneys inflamed.
Moving, to new countries, and renting a place to live followed. I tried to cope on my own, but the hardest part awaited me ahead. Then came the trials of my parents in my criminal case. Apart from the trials, I was constantly being summoned for interrogations and inquiries. My parents could not leave the country because of the fines imposed and my disabled grandmother.
The sums that need to be spent on lawyers, fines, and relocation are huge for my family. I am asking for support so that we can pay for lawyers. Because of the huge fines, it is very difficult for my parents right now, plus they have a person with a disability on their support.
How much is needed?
2000€ — help for parents with lawyer's fees; financial help with moving.