Human rights activist Nasta Loyka has been sentenced to seven years in prison. We have already published a touching letter from Nasta to her dog, Eric. Human rights activists have also shared information that Nasta was beaten with a stun gun and forced to stand in the cold for several hours without outerwear. Recently, she was transferred to a prison. A former political prisoner, Marina (*note, name changed for security reasons), contacted us and told us about her encounter with Nasta in captivity. Here is her story:
“I first met Nasta at Okrestina. I recognized her immediately. Of course, she also told about the stun gun in the heel and how the head of the pre-trial detention center forced her out into the cold. She talked about everything calmly. In detention, you enter a special state; there’s a different rhythm of life, and time feels different. That’s why people often communicate calmly, saving energy and nerves (I’m only talking about “political prisoners”). Others may behave deliberately aggressively in order to bring the “politicals” out the scandal, which is what the administration needs. Nasta tried to walk 10,000 steps in the cell every day. Later, I saw her at Volodarka in the corridors, in line, or when she was taken out for walks.
Of course, “political” prisoners from Okrestina are always placed to different cells, unfortunately. Nasta held up well – communication with each other helped us a lot. Nasta gave us legal advice and shared other useful information; all of this later was very helpful to us.”
