Then to three more. All of them were held in solitary confinement, had no contact with one another, did not go on group walks, and had been in complete isolation for almost a year.

The medical staff, after examining the women, said a sentence that made everyone in Block Z freeze: they were all pregnant — each one at a different stage of pregnancy.

It was impossible. The cells were locked, the guards were all women, access to men was completely excluded, and surveillance was constant.