Marfa Rabkova (Марыя Аляксандраўна Рабкова) is a human rights activist and the coordinator of Viasna’s volunteer service.
On September 6, 2022 the Minsk Municipal Court announced the sentence of ten political prisoners at once: coordinator of Viasna’s volunteer network Marfa Rabkova was sentenced to 15 years in prison on 10 articles of the criminal code, and volunteer Andrei Chapiuk — to 6 years in prison on 4 articles of the criminal code. Supreme Court considered the appeals and the sentences for Marfa Rabkova and Andrei Chapiuk were reduced by three months.
About Viasna
Human Rights Center “Viasna” is a non-governmental human rights organization, created in 1996 during mass protest actions of the democratic opposition in Belarus. Viasna was initially a group created to help the arrested rally participants and their families. That’s why originally Viasna had the name “Viasna-96”. On 15 June 1999 the organization was registered as the Human Rights Center “Viasna”. It is a national NGO with the central office in Minsk and regional organizations in the majority of Belarusian cities. Viasna has about 200 members all over the country. The organization is managed by the Council and chair of the Council, elected by the General Congress.
On 28 October 2003 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus groundlessly cancelled registration of Viasna for its participation in observation of the presidential election in 2001. On 6 March 2004 the Human Rights Center “Viasna” became member of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).
The main goal of Viasna is to contribute to development of the civic society in Belarus, based on respect to human rights, described in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus.
Marfa Rabkova’s last word 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. How much bravery does it take not to do bad things? How much courage does it take to act under human values within one’s sphere of influence? What does it take to stop the chain of evil that has begun? What will we be left with when it is over? What are we going to tell our kids and grandchildren? What will you leave behind in this world? These are the questions you have to answer for yourself and the future. And it is pressing us with every second.
I do not plead guilty to any of the charges. I consider them to be fully fabricated, absurd, and made up by the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime. When there is no organized crime in the country, apparently, it has to be created to justify the existence of this entire department which has grown enormously in the last decade and does not mind using methods resembling those of the Gestapo, rather than officers engaged in the protection of citizens.
Nor do I consider guilty the thousands of people who are suffering in the prisons of our country. Every person has rights, every person is an individual, every opinion must be respected, and life and freedom are the highest and absolute values. Humanism, justice, empathy, development, and responsibility for everything going on around us are the milestones on which the future stands. By rejecting them you are rejecting the future itself, which is approaching and is inevitable. The future is change because progress is always moving and striving forward. The Belarusian people deserve a decent standard of living, respect for themselves, and respect for the rights of every member of society—a state that will be working for the people and not against them.
I want to thank my wonderful husband, my mother, my whole family, friends and relatives, colleagues, attorneys, as well as all caring Belarusians for help and solidarity on this thorny path of imprisonment. Thank you for not forgetting me and staying with me.
I have seen so many kind and bright faces, I have seen so many honest people that I am sure we will make it anyway, there is no other option. Every time we help each other, every time we care, every time we offer a helping hand, express solidarity, respond to someone else’s pain—every such time we bring our future, our Belarus closer. Do not despair and believe in yourselves, in your strength. The truth is on our side.
Long live Belarus and Glory to Ukraine!”
Marfa Rabkova. August 2022