Political Prisoner Aliaksandr Ivulin Delivered His Last Plea In Court

He shared the story of his family and called to take it into account when passing sentence.

Journalist and "Krumkachy" football player Aliaksandr Ivulin delivered his final plea in court, reports ChesnOK The prosecutor asked to sentence the political prisoner to two years in a penal colony:

- I would like to point out that for the last 7 months I have not been able to help not only my football club but also the main supporters in my life - my parents. My mother is a pensioner and my father is a third-group invalid. But, apart from them, I have a very important fan. For me, this is a very personal story.

The thing is that I have a brother, he has been disabled since childhood. His name is Siarhei, and he will be 39 years old this year. He is my older brother, but because of his specific mental development, his socialization hasn't gone as well as it should. And at the age of 39 he cannot provide for himself, he cannot work. Basically, the man's entire social circle is three people, one of whom is me. He has no friends, he has no acquaintances. And just for you to understand, when I was in the pre-trial detention centre, it was his birthday. And the most meaningful gift for him would have been to let Sasha go home. But that didn't happen, and the thing is that because of his specific development, we can only communicate in person, so I tried to go home to my parents as often as possible, tried to visit him.

Now we can't communicate via messenger or phone, we can only communicate in person. And I'm very concerned that if my detention lasts longer, his socialisation... it will be very difficult for him to get used to me.

A very important point is that my parents are not young people. And if, God forbid, something happens to them, the only person who can take guardianship over my brother will be me. The fact is that the pensions of a woman, who has worked in a kindergarten all her life, and that of a man with a disability are low. Therefore, the only source of not only moral but also material support for my parents has been me.

So I would really like to ask the High Court to take this into account when passing sentence. Finally, I would like to say that despite everything that has happened, I continue to believe in the rule of law, I continue to believe in human morality and I continue to believe in people.