We publish the text of the last word that Marfa Rabkova prepared for her speech in court.
“We live in the era of twisted truth—the good is punished, the evil is celebrated, the freedom is possible only within one's own mind,s, and even there it could be attacked with Article 13 of the Criminal Code, ‘the intent’. Thoughtcrime does not only exist in dystopian fiction—it is thriving in Belarusian reality.
I have lived all my life under the rule of Lukashenka. I was born and raised within this system. You are labeling me as ‘extremist’, stating that I was a destructive element, I was hateful, and I had lost my roots. But I am just as much a part of society as the rest of you. The only difference about me is that I call things for what they are and I cannot ignore them. Violence is violence, repressions are repressions, and war is war. There is no other way. I feel ashamed when educated people cover their eyes and ears, mute their moral sense, and do not question their own actions".