Mother Of Anarchist Yemialyanau: I Responded Like Narbut To General Muravyov - I Am Raising Three More Sons As Patriots

Anastasia Yemialyanava reckons the sentence as unfair, and believes her son to be a real patriot.

Anastasia Yemialyanava, the mother of activist of the anarchist movement Mikita Yemialyanau, sentenced to 7 years in a reinforced-security penal colony, has told Radio Svaboda that the family was threatened during the investigation into her son’s case. Anastasia has called the sentence of 7 years of imprisonment unfair, and characterized her son as a real patriot of Belarus.

“What can I say about the sentence? Of course it is way too brutal and unfair. I did not expect this, it turned out to almost copy the sentence in the notorious “Network case” in Russia, when young anarchists were given maximum prison terms for the participation in a fake organization. There was a high-profile trial, and here was the same. They clearly copied the sentence in order not to look too kind.

However, here they should have dropped the charges under the article on damaging the building due to the insignificance of the damage done, as it really looks ridiculous - a remand prison suffered the damage of BYN 1 and something. However, they didn’t drop anything, as this is a political case, it was started against the people who position themselves as anarchists, as opponents of the regime,” Anastasia Yemialyanava thinks.

Anastasia Yemialyanava says that her son is a man of many talents, he is interested in fiction and historical books.

“He enjoys reading the books from the “Unknown History” cycle by Anatol Taras, he also likes theatre - his personal rating is headed by the “Pane Kachanku” by the Gorky Drama Theatre, and “The Black Lady Of Niasvizh” by the Kupalauski Theatre. He is kind, sympathizes with people. This is exactly why they punished him so fiercely: for being too sympathetic with political prisoners, Dzmitry Paliyenka and others. This is clear,” Yemialyanau’s mother believes.

In the materials of the Mikita Yemialyanau case it was sounded that he considered himself to be a patriot of Belarus, but not a nationalist. Does his mother agree with such definition?

“Well, he surely is a patriot. This is the way we brought him up in the family. You know, there is such a tale about Theodor Norbut, that when his son Ludwik, the participant of the Kastus Kalinouski uprising, was killed, the tsar General Muravyov asked him: “Well, maybe you will calm down on this?” But Norbut said he had two more sons. This is what I can respond to the sentence against Mikita. I have more sons. I have four, and all of them are being raised, and will be raised, as patriots.”

According to Anastasia Yemialyanava, after Mikita had been arrested, the family started receiving threats. The woman says she cannot feel safe even now.

“During the investigations, there were threats, they threatened Mikita would get a bigger prison term if he doesn’t behave the way they want him to. I cannot tell the names of these people, as I don’t have any guarantees of security, but this is how it was,” the mother says.

in his last word, Mikita Yemialyanau said that, when it comes to the struggle for freedom, independence, and human rights, the ends justify the means. Does the woman support the anarchist views of her son, and his actions?

“Well, at least Mikita is one of those who raised their ass from the couch and did something. We know that the people struggling for freedom in our country undergo violence, prisons, and administrative arrests. Mikita is one of them - he is a real patriot, and he doesn’t want to put up with this system. With unfair judges, the police who beat the right testimonies out of people - as we heard at the trial, this is what they did to Ivan Komar. Of course, using such methods disgraces the whole system.”

Anastasia Yemialyanava confirmed that she used to work an a police investigator, having stressed that she “worked for the police, not the Investigatory Committee, for many years”. As for the information that Mikita’s father was a policeman, too - Anastasia refused to comment on this.