Maria is a 50-year-old married mother of two. She is also the carer for her disabled brother and her elderly mother. A trained linguist, Maria worked as a social worker and tutor, and always strived to show others that it is possible to have a different and better way of life. Even before the events of 2020, she had an active interest in politics.
She remembers when Lukashenko was first elected, thinking to herself “how on Earth will we put up with him for the next four years?”
She began taking part in protests after the arrest of Sergei Tikhanovsky. She raised awareness among the older generation of what was happening in the country and about the alternatives to the Lukashenko who had been hanging onto power for more than 25 years.
Maria was detained on 9th August,2020, the day of the elections, for distributing white bracelets at a polling station. These bracelets were worn by people who had voted for opposition candidates. After her arrest Maria was taken to the Pervomaiskoe police station. There she was subjected to pressure. She was screamed at, insulted and threatened with having her finger cut off if she didn’t take off her wedding ring. At Okrestina Detention Centre, one of the officers broke her leg. For more than four days Maria and the other detained women were denied food, water and access to adequate medical care. She witnessed a detainee being beaten to a pulp and at night she heard the torture and beating of other detained protestors.
Maria's story is saturated with the pain, horror and fear experienced by detainees in custody. Her story is about how in the 21st century in the centre of Europe, a widespread campaign of torture and violence was unleashed against people who simply want to live in a free and democratic country.