{"id":36321,"date":"2024-01-09T15:31:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T12:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/news\/ya-v-etoj-drame-v-lyubom-sluchae-do-finala-vystuplenie-rezhisserki-berkovich-i-sczenaristki-petrijchuk-na-zasedanii-po-prodleniyu-aresta\/"},"modified":"2025-03-23T23:39:32","modified_gmt":"2025-03-23T20:39:32","slug":"ya-v-etoj-drame-v-lyubom-sluchae-do-finala-vystuplenie-rezhisserki-berkovich-i-sczenaristki-petrijchuk-na-zasedanii-po-prodleniyu-aresta","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/ya-v-etoj-drame-v-lyubom-sluchae-do-finala-vystuplenie-rezhisserki-berkovich-i-sczenaristki-petrijchuk-na-zasedanii-po-prodleniyu-aresta\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIn this drama, I\u2019m here to the final scene.\u201d Theatre director Berkovich and playwright Petriychuk speak at a court hearing on their detention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0424\u043e\u0442\u043e: \u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0440\u0430 \u0410\u0441\u0442\u0430\u0445\u043e\u0432\u0430 \/ \u041c\u0435\u0434\u0438\u0430\u0437\u043e\u043d\u0430<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow extended the detention of theatre director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk. They were taken<\/a> into custody in Moscow in May, on charges of \u201cpublic calls to terrorism.\u201d The case stems from their 2020 play, \u201cFinist, the Brave Falcon\u201d about the lives of women who choose to marry Islamist extremists online and subsequently relocate to Syria. Since May, the two women are jailed, even though Berkovich has two adoptive daughters. Mediazona<\/em> publishes the statements they read during today\u2019s hearings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Berkovich originally delivered her remarks in verse, our English rendition focuses on conveying the essence of her words, opting for clarity over rhyme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0427\u0438\u0442\u0430\u0442\u044c \u043d\u0430 \u0440\u0443\u0441\u0441\u043a\u043e\u043c<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhenya Berkovich<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your Honour, as you already heard today, our criminal case was opened nine months ago, eight of which we spent in jail. And, if my calculations are correct, including the appeal, this is the eighth time we are in court, where the question of our form of detention is being discussed or appealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And each time the court\u2019s decision contains a phrase that completely mesmerizes me. It goes something like this: the court doesn\u2019t see reasons to change the form of detention, because the circumstances in which it was chosen haven\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Honour,
I must declare:
Indeed, things are as they appear,
And there\u2019s nothing to debate here.

Our arguments do sound the same, it\u2019s clear.
For, each time, we hear
The same set phrases from the investigation.
And, naturally, we answer the same thing.

It all keeps repeating, over and over.
I\u2019m at a loss for what to do, and how to fight.
Write a speech and sing it in Buryat?
Perhaps include some advertising?

Every time Sveta and I are brought here,
We hope. But hope so far in vain.
As citizens, we count on our court time,
But each time, it\u2019s like Groundhog Day.

There\u2019s one answer to one question.
Via video or in person, face-to-face.
About fleeing, a chance approaching none,
About pressuring the witnesses, who don\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And about me not fleeing in a bracelet from my home.
In this drama, I\u2019m here to the final scene.
And about me not continuing my criminal activities,
Which I never started in the first place.

Under investigation in Russia, here I stand,
And as much as I\u2019d want to, I can\u2019t get out of this net.
I still have two sick children,
Who are being deprived of their childhood.

16 years in orphanages, between the two.
And finally: a home, safety, a mother,
Can\u2019t you at least spare me and them this torture?
Just no torture, that would be something.

I still have the same home in Moscow.
The same registration, an easy address to remember.
There\u2019s a change though: I had two grandmothers,
And now just one. In a month, she\u2019ll turn 90 (I hope.)

And the investigation still hasn\u2019t unearthed anything,
Despite all the resources and all the capabilities.
And still, no one\u2019s in a hurry to close
Our case of special complexity.

The case is dead. That\u2019s it. Game over.
It can\u2019t be saved by testimony, interrogation, word.
Listen, in nine months, one could have fully birthed an expert.
And he would\u2019ve been well-prepared.

Maybe it\u2019s time to finish this public lashing?
It\u2019s not the 80s, there\u2019s no parliament outside the court.
The difference between an investigation and brawl
Is that the goal of the former is to prove, not to punish.

But the investigation is happy with the way everything is going.
It\u2019s so convenient. The case is frozen, we\u2019re in prison.
That\u2019s a strategy for real heroes.
The opponent who didn\u2019t come out on the field is invincible.

Your Honor, we didn\u2019t choose this path.
And our journey can\u2019t be considered comfortable.
You see, when the essence remains unchanged,
And artist can only work with the form.

But the essence won\u2019t change. There can\u2019t be any variation here.
Any child can confirm this, no matter whose.
As citizens, we expect to see fair judges.
It\u2019s still a little early for executioners.

But I still believe that you\u2019re not one of them.
That it\u2019s a significant and honest choice for you.
And since it emerged for some reason,
That means we can still expect a surprise.

I\u2019m finishing up, I don\u2019t have four volumes.
Unfortunately, I don\u2019t even have two notebooks.
But if there\u2019s no hope to choose the words,
All that remains is to bet on their order.

After all, it\u2019s a new year.
The dragon arrived. Not a spider, not, a worm, not a mute fish.
I ask you, remember about the miracle and the law.
They are nearly synonyms. That\u2019s all. Thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Svetlana Petriychuk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your Honour, my play does not contain any justification of terrorism\u2014and there cannot be anything of the sort in there. Moreover, we voiced our completely opposite position publicly many times. And, of course, I\u2019m eternally surprised, over and over again, how these documents could be considered sufficient by everyone, given the fact that they all look like copies of each other, and that\u2019s everything the investigation can produce. Two months\u2014and the motion is granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Honour, I have no intentions to escape, I am a law-abiding person, I have real estate, I wouldn\u2019t try to interfere with the investigation in any way and even more so to run away through backyards. That\u2019s why I\u2019m asking you to deny the motion and set us free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judge Larisa Semenova extended the detention until March 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna\u00a0Pavlova<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor: Maria Klimova<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-36321","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","regions-moscow"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cIn this drama, I\u2019m here to the final scene.\u201d Theatre director Berkovich and playwright Petriychuk speak at a court hearing on their detention - Political prisoners support. 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