“Dear Eric! Since the first days spent in my temporary place of residence, I have wanted to write you a farewell letter, yet I couldn’t find the strength, as it was painful and tearful. But it is important to me.” Thus begins a letter of Belarusian human rights activist Anastasia Loika, who is currently in pre-trial jail on charges of inciting hatred and organising acts that grossly violate public order. She faces up to eight years in prison. The Eric that she is saying goodbye to from prison is not a man, however. Eric is her dog. A big, handsome, elderly shepherd-like dog.