##### Transcript:
I thought for a long time about what I wanted to say in my final statement — what to share, what to ask. At first, I wanted to talk about Operation North, the largest deportation of believers, which marks its 75th anniversary this year, and how history is repeating itself. Then I considered telling about the investigation and how absurd the charges are, but my heart was not in it.
So I simply want to share how the last year and 8 months have passed for me. I used to always find life interesting. I loved studying, traveling, languages, sports, my work, and being around thoughtful, good people. Overall, I found joy in each day of my life. I did not like to sleep long, because I always wanted to wake up early and find out what the new day would bring.
But on December 5, 2024, my life changed. A criminal case was initiated against me; they came with a search, took me to the Investigative Department. I never returned home after that. At first, I was alone all the time: 2 days in the temporary detention facility, then I was taken to court in the prisoner transport van, and then the court sent me to the pretrial detention center.
People react to stress differently: fight, flight, or freeze. Mine, I suppose, is to freeze. I was being taken to the pretrial detention center, keeping quiet and thinking: “What a situation I am in. What will happen next — will they beat me, stick needles under my fingernails, send me to punishment cells?”
We were approaching the pretrial detention center. Winter, snow — pretrial detention center No. 6, as usual, does not let us in, we are delayed at the airlock for about 2 hours. The driver then sits with us and starts talking: “Do not be afraid, no one will hurt you there, there are good people both among the inmates and among the staff. You will read, knit, draw, wait for court hearings.” Of course, it was hard to believe this at the time, but somehow after his words, my new place of stay did not seem so oppressive, and I …