Jiří Veselý

“Then, without even telling me, they called my parents. They summoned my parents to Uherské Hradiště to talk me out of it. My parents came, I had no idea they’d come. Suddenly I was called for, that I had visitors. They were given the task of talking me out of it. It was a really difficult conversation because Dad didn’t fight me in questions of faith, he didn’t dictate what I should or shouldn’t, but he appealed to the emotions. He asked if I want him to have a son who was a criminal, for everyone to ridicule him. I said I couldn’t choose any other way. I was surprised that Mum didn’t react, that she didn’t speak up for me. Then when she shook my hand, she passed me a scrap of paper. When I read it, it said that she had promised not to talk in my favour. So I understand. The next day I was taken to Brno to the prosecutor’s office.”

“The trial was closed to the public but ran with full pomp. I remember the names of the judges, and I remember that during the discussion, my counsel ended up joining the judges and the on-lookers to speak against me. He was there as my defender ‘ex offo’, by appointment. When he spoke against me, saying I wouldn’t ever leave jail, that there was no solution, then I don’t where I found it in me, but I told the judge that I was dismissing my counsel because he wasn’t defending me but speaking against me. They had accept that. They were surprised. So I defended myself. Basically, I said those were my convictions, why did they want to break me? Why do they want to make a spiritual cripple out of me? I had applied to be assigned to a medical unit, I could serve there, no problem. If someone has one leg short, that’s taken into account as a matter of course. But when they try to change someone’s character, it’s not visible, but it’s worse than that short leg.”