Screaming to be heard in a Wasteland: Ales Bialiatski’s closing statement

I find myself in a difficult position because I understand very well that this case has carried a political subtext from start to finish. My lawyer’s speech and these final words of mine remind me of a voice screaming to be heard in a wasteland. I feel like I am screaming in a wasteland and trying to get my voice to reach the sun. But nevertheless I do have something to say. And I will start by saying that my friend gave me an old Soviet book to read about countermeasures the KGB took against human rights defenders in the USSR. Forty years have passed, but in these three months I have felt like I have returned to the USSR, only this reincarnation has taken place at some different level. When KGB officers were taking me to Rakov to conduct a search, I tried to get them to talk about why they were using old methods. I do not believe that the KGB and other state security services have no idea what Viasna does. If they see us as a source of funds for the opposition, then this is a mistake on their part and a sign of their unprofessionalism. I do not believe this. The KGB knows very well what we are working on in Belarus and it works against human rights defenders with deliberation and purpose, making use of any methods available to it.

Advertisements