16 October 2021
Describing the first meeting after 13 months, Marfa`s husband, Vadim Zheromsky, told the newspaper „Nasha Niva“:
“You try to cover everything during one hour, but this is impossible ...
It is very difficult emotionally, especially at the end, when the convoy says: "You have three minutes left."
The detention was a real test for Marfa. Her husband said that she was not feeling physically well - she had been seriously ill with coronavirus, her complexion became ashy-pale, she lost 20 kilograms, she had low blood pressure, fainted several times in the cell, she was not provided with the necessary dental care.
Psychologically Marfa went through difficult times as well. First her grandmother died from coronavirus, and afterwards her father dies from cancer when she was in the prison. “She was constantly blackmailed by this, demanded to give the necessary testimony in exchange for the opportunity to see her father. As a result, he died, and Marfa was not allowed to say goodbye to him,” says Vadim. In letters from prison she writes that it is very difficult for her to realize that she will no longer see her father.
Marfa Rabkova is 26 years old, she has been volunteering for about five years, and since 2019 she is an employee of "Viasna". As part of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections", she was the coordinator and conducted in-depth training for presidential election observers. After the 2020 elections, Martha helped to collect evidence of torture and violence against civilians.
Vadim points out that the understanding that you are not abandoned and being expected is extremely crucial for anybody in prison. Support letters from the outside, when even completely unfamiliar people write something are very important!
Don´t forget to write to political prisoners! Please!
