Kelly was arrested in 2021 at age 18 on charges of "conspiracy to incite subversion" and "conspiracy to manufacture explosives" linked to a youth group called "Returning Valiant." She spent nearly four years in custody and was released in April. She returned to a transformed city where local cafes, small shops, and familiar corners had disappeared or been replaced, leaving her disoriented. Many former friends have left or avoid her. She now works part-time in a cafe, visits a psychiatrist monthly, experiences nightmares and hypervigilance, avoids drawing attention, and struggles with social anxiety and persistent fear.
""I knew I might go to prison for trying to make change but the cost was greater than I imagined," said Kelly, who was 18 years old when she was arrested in 2021 for "conspiracy to incite subversion" and "conspiracy to manufacture explosives.""
""Everything feels unfamiliar," she said."
""Sometimes I dream that people are chasing me, shooting from a rooftop. When I wake, I check the door, the window just to make sure they're not here.""
""Even laughter feels different now.""
Read at www.dw.com
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