Natalya Kosteva could not see her sons, who are in death row. Stanislaw, 19 years old, and Ilya, 21 years old, were sentenced to death in Belarus for their neighbor's murder. Belarus is the only country in Europe with capital punishment.
Aside from the thought that her children will soon die, Natalya is left with more significant grief that since her sons' arrest, she has not seen both of them.
The brothers' sentencing
In April 2019, Stanislaw and Ilya killed their sister's neighbor, who is a teacher. Records show that the brothers were angry with the teacher for reporting their sister Hannah to authorities for not caring for her four children.
The two did not only kill the neighbor; they also set the teacher's house on fire to conceal the crime.
After the trial, the Belarusian court sentenced the brothers to death.
Stanislaw and Ilya are the last in Belarus' death row.
Mother unable to see sons in death row
Natalya has been staying in Minsk even before the initial arrest of her sons. She is working there to pay for the debt piled up due to Stanislaw and Ilya's stay in a state-run children's home.
The brothers were put in a children's home when they were 14 and 16 years old. They were taken away for fighting and skipping school.
The state takes one-third of Natalya's salary for the $4,000 that she still owes. This debt will take Natalya eight more years to pay. That is even after her children, Stanislaw and Ilya, are executed.
Even if Natalya would want to take some day off, she is not allowed to leave Minsk until she has paid the money in full.
Since the arrest of her sons, the grieving mother could only communicate with them through letters.
The execution: punishment for the family, not the brothers
The execution of Stanislaw and Ilya could take place anytime.
The death of her brothers is already worrisome for Hannah, the oldest sister of Stanislaw and Ilya. However, not knowing when their execution would take place is even more difficult for their entire family.
In Belarus, families are not allowed to know when and where the execution will be. Also, even if Natalya will be allowed to leave Minsk, she will not know where to pay her respects because the Belarusian authorities would not disclose where the bodies would be buried.
In an interview by the Current Time in January, Hannah and Natalya shared how the verdict affected their lives.
The family has been receiving threats from strangers on social media. Hannah also had to leave the house where they grew up because of the dangers. Natalya, on the other hand, is not only worried about herself. She is also concerned about her two other children and her grandchildren.
