Viktar Rubtsou: Father worked as a bus driver

Yury Rubtsou's son told about political prisoner's life before the imprisonment.

On June 11 international human rights organization Amnesty International recognized Yury Rubtsou as prisoner of conscience. His son Viktar was interviewed for Belarusian Documentation Center.

- Viktar, tells us about your father.

He was born in Homel, graduated from secondary school. Then he learned to be a bus driver and worked at this position almost all the time. He served in the Soviet Army, missile troops. He was in Afghanistan, but silenced unless the collapse of the USSR, he signed a non-disclosure agreement and officially served in Kalinin (Tver). He has a son, two grandchildren (Siarhei - 10 years old, Vova - 3).

- How does Yury behave at home? What kind of grandfather is he?

- He likes to work with wood, he makes furniture, not for sale, but for family or as gifts for relatives, he is fond of reading and listening to classics. He is always busy with something. He is a good grandfather. Vova (younger grandson) misses him very much - father used to pay a lot of attention to them, liked to make tours around the city and tried to surprise children with something extraordinary, for example, to ride on train instead of walking.

- How did relatives take Yury's arrest?

- The reaction differed. Some misunderstood his protest and objectives, but mostly they support him. All our neighbours and acquaintances treat him with respect, ask about him and follow the news on the Internet. Since the "t-shirt" times he has even found fans. There are cases when I develop job relations and people find out who my father is, they are extremely excited.

- Do you feel moral support, solidarity from never-before-known people?

- Yes, I do. We often get acquainted with new people. There is a feeling that many of them want to be supportive and it is nice to be among like-minded people.

Yury Rubtsou is sentenced to two years in a general regime prison. The sentence was announced on May 28 in the Pruzhany District court by Judge Mikalai Rapikha (Brest region). Rubtsou was found guilty of evasion of serving punishment (Article 415 of the Criminal Code) during his placement in the open-type institution (OPI) in Kuplin village, Pruzhany district, Brest region.