"A huge sense of guilt, but not for beating her son." Former political prisoners told how a woman convicted of killing a child is imprisoned.

During the trial in October 2023, Anastasia was 37 years old, now she is 40. Human rights activist Nasta Loika first met her in Pre-trial Detention Center No. 1, which at that time was located in Minsk on Valadarski Street. This happened in the spring of 2023, when Taratuta was transported in transit from Zhodzina to the National Research and Practical Center for Mental Health in Navinki.

"Nastia was with us for literally a few days. Then she was taken for an examination. On the way back, she asked to be put in our cell again, but I, unfortunately, was no longer there," Nasta recalls those events. "Child murder is considered one of the most horrific crimes, and there is a certain discriminatory attitude towards people who have committed it behind bars. But, it seems to me, she didn't feel that from me and the girls. Firstly, the person had just been detained, and in essence, nothing was clear about the case yet. Secondly, who are we to judge her?"

The human rights activist doesn't hide that Anastasia impressed her from the threshold: tall, thin, and gloomy, with bags under her eyes. The women slept next to each other.

"All night she gnashed her teeth, meaning it was clear she was in a bad moral state: anxious, confused, not understanding what was happening around her. I would even say, hounded by others," Nasta shares her impressions. "When she learned I was a lawyer, she started asking for advice a little, telling me about her case. I deeply sympathized with her humanly."

According to the human rights activist, Taratuta said that she is a citizen of Russia but has lived in Belarus for a long time. She has five children. Court reports stated that the two older boys are not Alexander's biological children. One of them lived with his father. Anastasia said that the murdered Semyon had developmental peculiarities.

"She said that her husband started beating this child, and she couldn't do anything about it. According to Anastasia, she filed a report against her husband with the police, a criminal case was opened, and he was only fined," Nasta recounts those conversations. "She understood her complete helplessness. It was very difficult for her; she was completely dependent on him."

However, court reports did not mention Anastasia's statement against her husband.

— At the trial, doctors who arrived at the call on the day of the murder said that the three-year-old boy weighed less than 10 kilograms. The prosecutor's office reported that the parents tied him with clothes and bedding to restrict his movement. Did she talk about this?

— Unfortunately, she didn't talk about that part," Nasta replies.

The interlocutor asked Taratuta why she didn't leave her husband if living with him was so difficult.

"Here, a remark needs to be made. Nastia is a very simple girl. Without higher education, with little social support, her relatives in other cities. Financially, she depended on her husband," the human rights activist reflects. "As far as I know, she once called the local social services, asking for help to leave him and get a divorce. They connected her to a psychologist. He said: 'You have many children, you need to reconcile with your husband.'"

Later, Nasta recalls, she received information that after the story with the Taratuta family, some Slutsk officials were dismissed, and criminal cases were initiated against some. It was publicly reported that Alexander Dzyadok, head of the IDN of the Slutsk District Department of Internal Affairs, and Artsiom Halavinski, investigator of the Slutsk District Investigative Committee, ended up in the dock.

"As far as I know, Nastia went as a witness to tell how the work of social services looked from her perspective," the human rights activist recalls.

"If I had known who it was, I wouldn't have fed her at all."

According to the human rights activist, in the pre-trial detention center, Taratuta said she was not giving any testimony.

"She said that when she was brought to the Slutsk District Department of Internal Affairs after her detention, they yelled at her loudly, threatened her, and hit her with an electric wire," Nasta conveys conversations with Anastasia. "Not even a stun gun, but they tore out an electric wire from somewhere and hit her."

Павялічыць

Nasta recalls that Anastasia had no papers related to the case with her. Loika helped her write to the Russian consulate, asking them to visit her. As far as the ex-political prisoner knows, "this never happened over all these years."

In Valadarka, information about Alexander Taratuta also reached Nasta. According to her, the man was placed in a "press-hut," where an inmate nicknamed Elephant was held. The latter, the interlocutor says, was serving a sentence for two murders and worked for the administration.

"They would throw certain people to him, whom he, one could say, tortured at the administration's request. I heard him doing it when I ended up two cells away," she recalls. "Before every dinner, he would force someone to do push-ups, squats. People screamed, cried."

Another ex-political prisoner, Maryna (name changed), who was also in Valadarka during this period, heard that the man had to sleep under the bunks.

Maryna first learned about Anastasia Taratuta also in Pre-trial Detention Center No. 1. The woman says that word-of-mouth works well in the isolation ward. The news that the spouses were in Valadarka was widely known.

At some point, the interlocutor ended up in the cell where Taratuta had previously been held. One day during a conversation, her cellmate Valentina (name changed), who was imprisoned under an "economic" article, mentioned it to her. However, she only learned the details of the case from the television after Anastasia had already been taken away. Valentina admitted she was shocked.

"Valya is from a wealthy family. Somehow, the conversation turned to food. She said she helped Anastasia. She says: 'If I had known who it was, I wouldn't have fed her at all,' Maryna recounts. 'Later in the colony, some 'drug addict' girls from her squad didn't even want to sit opposite her during lunch, watching her eat. At the same time, an acquaintance, who was also detained for 'politics,' said that a woman who had been in the pre-trial detention center with Nastia was transferred to their cell. She felt very sorry for Taratuta and talked a lot with her. In the same room with them was a hardened criminal who constantly mocked Nastia, taking her food and parcels. The latter, as far as I remember, only cried and silently endured instead of responding.'"

"Honestly, when I got there, I was in absolute shock."

In November 2023, Nasta Loika was transferred to Penal Colony No. 4 in Gomel, where she again met Anastasia Taratuta. Initially, the women worked at the factory on the same shift and met periodically, but spoke little.

Павялічыць

"When we met in the pre-trial detention center, she said she wasn't reading any papers or giving testimony. She continued to do so for another six months. After her eldest son turned 14, investigators came to him with a search, interrogated him, and then told the mother that if she didn't start admitting guilt, they would make him an accomplice," Nasta recounts her conversation with Anastasia. "As a person who doesn't know legal procedures, understands nothing, she, of course, agreed to everything and from that moment started signing everything without reading. She didn't even read her verdict and threw it away. So, when I started clarifying some nuances of the case, she replied: 'I don't know.'"

According to Nasta, the woman was "in absolute shock" that she was given 25 years.

"For her, it was simply a misunderstanding," says the human rights activist. "And no matter how she felt about her husband, no matter how much she hated him, his execution was also a complete blow to her," Nasta recalls. "She cries a little all the time. She's in a semi-depressive state."

After some time, Nasta was sent to another shift, and the women didn't see each other for a long time. In January 2026, a month and a half before her release, Loika was transferred to squad 18, where Taratuta was held. The human rights activist calls it "the most terrible" in the colony.

"Honestly, when I got there, I was in absolute shock. People there can constantly speak insultingly to each other," the human rights activist recalls. "Besides the toxicity, there are also bad conditions: there's only one bidet for a hundred people, and uncurtained toilets, no washing machine."

As far as Loika knows, Taratuta has been in this squad for several years.

At this time, the ex-political prisoner learned from Anastasia that Alexander had probably been executed. According to Nasta, no one officially informed the woman about it.

"Since the remaining children in the family were taken away, and both parents became obligated persons, the amount for the minors' upkeep was divided in half," Nasta Loika says. "In 2024, sometime before the New Year, Nastia was called to accounting and presented with a new paper stating that a recalculation had been made. A different amount was listed there. And while the previous document had her and her husband's last names, now it only had hers. From this, we concluded that Alexander's sentence had been carried out."

According to Nasta Loika, Anastasia's father strongly supported her behind bars, but he died in 2023 or 2024.

"She was constantly worried about her children. Very anxious about the eldest. She was sad that he wrote little, and at some point stopped, and they only communicated through her sister. He asked how she was, sent greetings. Nastia was worried that the girls were not taken in by relatives," the human rights activist shares her observations. "When they realized that I might be released soon, she pleaded: 'Find out what happened to my children.'"

According to Nasta, Taratuta is concerned that she has no contact with her children and would like to do something about it. She barely spoke with Nasta about the murdered Semyon.

"Nastia worked as a painter, she has an aptitude for manual work," the interlocutor shares her opinion. "I noticed some bitterness in her, but it seems to me that it appeared after this whole situation. Overall, Nastia is friendly, gets along well in the squad, for example, with younger girls who are sometimes a little confused. She looks after someone, despite her difficult psychological state."

According to Nasta, there were people who treated Taratuta negatively. They might say something insulting or remind her what she was imprisoned for.

"An acquaintance who interacted more closely with her recalled that Taratuta is a normal person, but 'broken.' Very restrained," recalls ex-political prisoner Maryna. "According to her observations, no one in the section bothered Nastia, as they did to 'politicals' and so-called 'alimony defaulters.'"

Maryna also encountered Taratuta in Penal Colony No. 4. In her opinion, the mother of many children found it unpleasant to be at the factory because "people constantly scolded her."

"I constantly heard that she was making some defects. Because of this, the team received a lower percentage of completion, and consequently, people were angry at her," says the ex-political prisoner. "I remember she constantly asked one of the operational staff to transfer her to any physical work outside, so as not to be in the workshop."

Maryna noticed a yellow tag on Anastasia's clothes "indicating a tendency to suicide."

"In Zhodzina, she had an attempt at self-harm (self-mutilation. — Note by Zerkalo)," Nasta Loika explains. "At first, it was so hard for her to withstand the tension that she started cutting herself. When psychologists noticed, this became the reason to put her on record."

Nasta recalls that while she was in the colony, Anastasia was visited by her brother, who lives in Russia. According to the interlocutor, Taratuta would like to be transferred to the Russian Federation, where "conditions are much better." As far as Loika knows, the woman received a response from the embassy that they cannot help her with extradition yet because she has a "debt" for the children.

"Nastia is very distressed by what happened. She has a huge sense of guilt, and it's consuming her," the human rights activist shares her observations. "Her guilt is not for beating or underfeeding her son. She rather blames herself for not leaving, for not finding protection from her husband. For getting into such a situation, into such a dependency."

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