HUMAN STORIES

Chapter 2. Tatyana

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Tatyana (name changed for security reasons) is a young woman with a higher education, mother of three minor children. March 25, Freedom Day, she and her friend walked along the avenue. It happened that both of them were in red jackets. They did not have symbols with them, they did not shout out slogans. The girls were approached by representatives of law enforcement agencies, who were actively detaining civilians on the streets of the city that day, and offered to go to the paddy wagon. Neither Tatyana nor her friend offered resistance, they already had experience of detentions, and they understood that nothing good could come from asking questions or hiding.

The girls were taken to one of the police departments of Minsk, where protocols were drawn up against them under Part 3 of Article 24.23. of the Administrative Code "Violation of the order for organizing or holding mass events". When it turned out that Tatyana had already two detentions for violation of the order of holding mass events, an employee of the police department with the words: "You still haven't got it?" drew up one more report on her under Article 24.3. "Disobedience to a lawful order or demand of an official in the performance of his duties".

In court, as evidence of Tatyana's participation in the unsanctioned mass event, the testimony of the police officer with a changed name was heard via video link. The real names of the police officers are not disclosed during court hearings and it is impossible to get information whether this officer was at the place of detention or not. The witness was confused about the place of detention and other details, gave false testimony about being resisted during the detention. During his testimony the "law-enforcement officer" was checking with the documents, to which the lawyer protested, but the judge ignored this fact.

The lawyer invited an eyewitness to the detention, who confirmed that the girls did not participate in the mass event, they just walked and did not resist during the arrest. The testimony of this witness was not taken into account by the court.

Tatyana provided the court with the children's birth certificates and a certificate of a large family, and pointed out that she was an individual entrepreneur and was not engaged in any activities due to the difficult epidemiological situation. Nevertheless, the judge sentenced Tatsiana to a fine of 150 base rates (4,350.00 BYR). The maximum fine for each article is one hundred base rates. Tatyana's friend received a fine of 100 base rates.

The fine for a family with an income of about 1,500.00 BYR per month is enormous. Tatyana appealed to a higher court, but the decision was left unchanged. The judge also refused to installment fines, citing the fact that the family owns a house and a car. The house is owned by three minors, who need to be taken to school and kindergarten every day in an old car.

Truly, Belarus is a "social" state, where motherhood and childhood are protected. But they are only protected as long as the children's parents are loyal to the only true, "immaculate" ideology. As soon as parents have their own opinions and try to voice them, no one else thinks about the welfare of families and children. The only thing such a state understands is that parents can be blackmailed with their children or threatened with being deprived of parental rights. An ideology that is alien to universal democratic values. A state with such an ideology has no future, and the present forces children to look for a better place to live and be educated in another country.

This is how the feat of our women is appreciated. Women who raised the country in the post-war years, who saw nothing in their lives but hard work, who raised their children, who hoped that their children and grandchildren will live a decent, free life. Today a new generation of women is forced to fight again for their families and children. Only the enemy is no longer external, but internal. The enemies are the people who are supposed to protect, defend, and help. People who have nothing human, for whom the holy words: mother, love, respect are an empty phrase, turned out to be in power. The worst thing for women is that tomorrow their children will have to follow the same path, to defend their inalienable right to freedom at the cost of their own health and even life.