Statkevich's Wife: Mikalai Is in His Constant Calm Fighting Mood

Maryna Adamovich and Darja Losik commented on the beginning of the trial in Homel.

In Homel, the “criminal case” of the main rivals of the dictator Lukashenka - Siarhei Tsikhanouski and Mikalai Statkevich - has begun behind closed doors. Political prisoners Ihar Losik, Uladzimir Tsyhanovich, Dmitry Popov, and Artsiom Sakau are also on trial with them.

Only lawyers and representatives of the state media were allowed there. The relatives stayed on the street to wait. Nasha Niva recorded their impressions from the beginning of the process.

As expected by the wife of Statkevich Maryna Adamovich, the relatives will not be allowed to attend the court.

“The process is closed, so I tried to act in a different way - I asked Mikalai to declare me as a defense attorney at the trial. The law allows one of the close relatives to be a defender - the decision is made at the discretion of the judge. Today Mikalai should have announced this."

The state press and television, most likely, were present there only before the start of the trial, since then they all left the pre-trial detention center.

"People were dispersed on the approaches. Everyone who just wanted to walk down the street was turned around by people in civilian clothes. One of our comrades, Aliaksei Kireeu, was detained, taken to the police department, and we are waiting to see what happens next.

I am very grateful to the diplomats. Despite the almost complete hopelessness that they might be allowed, they still came to support and say that the European Union insists on the release of political prisoners and will fight for it,” added Maryna.

She saw her husband today only on video from the state media.

"Judging by it, Mikalai is in his constant calm fighting mood. He immediately greeted everyone by shouting "Long live Belarus!", despite the fact that there were people who were clearly not his supporters. Mikalai is confident, I have no reason to think that he has somehow changed himself, changed his attitude to what is happening.

I am wary and a little angry because how long can this go on! You can see that a spiral is unfolding, reminiscent of the 1930s, when the machine must spin further - not a day without arrest, not a day without trials. Therefore, I observe what is happening, record, and draw my own conclusions."

Ihar Losik's wife Darja also arrived in Homel in the morning.

“When I was standing in front of the pre-trial detention center, and they began to let the lawyers in, a man in civilian clothes came up and said: show me your phone. I said: introduce yourself. He insisted: show the phone, then I will introduce myself. I asked why he needed my phone. "You can't take pictures, if you do, we'll take you." I said: take me right now,” she said.

She says the state media tried to get comments from her and the diplomats, but they ignored the TV people. She is outraged that relatives were not allowed to attend the meeting, but propagandists were allowed to enter.

"These are double standards. If the court is closed, then it is closed to everyone. This is a method to present your opponents in a bad light. Representatives of the state media can write down and say anything, and the defendants, of course, cannot answer them."

On Tuesday, June 22, when Ihar Losik was visited by a lawyer, the political prisoner was in a terrible mood.

"Why? Ihar always repeats: I studied all the materials of the case from start to finish and did not find any evidence of my guilt, so it makes me angry and annoyed that I have been behind bars for a whole year. Either do an open trial or release me."

“SB” journalist Liudmila Hladkaya hastened to joke: “I’ll tell you right away, Losik eats (this is in case his wife starts an old song about a hunger strike).”

"I saw a video with him," says Darja. "And he looks great?! Yes, he eats, he did not go on hunger strike. But he looks terrible. He is pale, green - I was upset.

They are brought in by twisting their arms behind their backs, like especially dangerous criminals who killed, raped, and sold drugs. This is the same method of dehumanizing the opponent - here, they say, look: they are terrible, dangerous, that's why all this happens to them.

It will be a fake trial, a farce. I'm not expecting anything good. We all see what sentences are being passed - even Viktar Babaryka was asked for 15 years. I do not count on a mild sentence. This will most likely be something like a demonstrative punishment. Unfortunately, I have such forecasts."