'I saw bags over people’s heads, wires attached to different parts of their bodies, broken ribs, damaged kidneys, people beaten to death, hunger lasting for more than a year, no medical assistance whatsoever, people rotting, legs, arms, lice, bedbugs, two showers in a year–and after those showers we left dirtier than when we arrived, and beaten as well.'
Final Statements
'...when telling the staff at the refugee camp about my former service, I hoped to find at least common sense and, at most – justice. But now I am afraid. I am afraid, gentlemen. But not of justice. I am afraid that here, in this courtroom, I may find neither.'
'Unfortunately, a major mistake has been made…'
'I do not consider myself a terrorist and I do not agree with the charges brought against me. I do not know how my future and my life will unfold, but I have this deep personal feeling that, after all, this is more of a cosplay of justice.'
'Carrying out this special operation under consideration was part of my military duty, my duty as a citizen of Ukraine, and my work.'
'I would also like to draw attention to the fact that, as a result of my actions, no citizen of the Russian Federation, including military personnel, was harmed. Nor was any civilian object damaged.'
'Your Honour, I have nothing further to add. Everything was said during the closing arguments by my lawyer and me.'
'We had no involvement in the alleged offence. I have nothing further to add. I am innocent.'
'Every teaching, including the one I teach, is a teaching of freedom.'
'You will not find any violations if you conduct an honest examination; you will not find any violations of your legislation in these five sentences.'
'No matter how long or how meticulously the authorities search for evidence of the 'crime' for which I am being tried, they will not find it. Because there was no crime, and there is no guilt.'
'Imprisonment gave me time to think. The cleansing silence of solitary confinement, above all, helped me understand who I am and what I am here for.'
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