THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) handed over a diploma of Ihor Lubchenko National Prize for the Protection of Freedom of Speech, which had been awarded to Crimean journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko, to his wife Kateryna Yesypenko at the extended board meeting of the Union yesterday. Vladyslav cannot attend the ceremony as he is in prison on trumped-up charges by the Russian occupation authorities.
The President of NUJU, Sergiy Tomilenko, emphasized the Union‘s solidarity with the illegally imprisoned Crimean Tatar journalists Vladyslav Yesypenko, Iryna Danylovych, Nariman Dzhelyal, and other Ukrainian media persons who are being held hostage by the occupiers. Sergiy Tomilenko recalled that Vladyslav Yesypenko and Iryna Danylovych were recently admitted to the ranks of the Union and, therefore, to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
“It is a great honor for us to hand over to you Ukrainian and international press cards as well as the award diploma, which had also been presented to the Crimean journalist Mykola Semena; the prisoner of the Kremlin/journalist Roman Sushchenko; the Donetsk media person Stanyslav Asieiev, and other worthy colleagues,” said Sergiy Tomilenko, addressing Kateryna Yesypenko. “Today, Kateryna, you are doing a lot for the release of our colleague and your husband. We believe that very soon, you will be able to hand this diploma directly over to Vladyslav.
Kateryna Yesypenko expressed her gratitude for the award and noted that she lives with great hope that, in the near future, Vladyslav himself will be able to be a guest at the events of the Union. Also, on behalf of Vladyslav Yesypenko and Iryna Danylovych, she thanked them for accepting them into the ranks of the Union.
“Being a member of the NUJU and the IFJ is a great psychological and emotional support,” emphasized Kateryna Yesypenko. “Vladyslav and Iryna are brave people with a principled position in life, an example of what true citizens of a state fighting for the preservation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity should be.”
NUJU First Secretary Lina Kushch read the words of Iryna Danylovych, with which she expressed the great importance of the unity of Crimea and Ukraine in 2017. “For us, the connection with Ukraine is instinctive; it is like a radio wave that we cannot see, but it is there!” Iryna wrote then.
At the suggestion of the Crimean journalist/NUJU Secretary Mykola Semena, the NUJU Board and Secretariat adopted a joint statement in support of illegally convicted journalists of Ukraine. In particular, the statement says that the special services of the aggressor, especially after the full-scale attack on Ukraine, are intensifying the persecution of independent journalists. According to human rights activists, during the entire period of occupation, the number of Ukrainian political prisoners in Russian torture camps reached 287 people. One hundred ninety-five of them are Crimean Tatars. A total of 182 prisoners of conscience-citizens of Ukraine are still being held behind bars; the number includes 116 Crimean Tatars.
“The NUJU declares its professional solidarity with colleagues who are illegally persecuted by the Russian authorities because of their professional duties,” the statement reads. “Systemic pressure on independent professional and citizen journalists in Crimea has been repeatedly condemned by the International Federation of Journalists, the European Federation of Journalists, the OSCE Representative on Media Freedom, and the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission. We call on the authorities, the public of Ukraine, and the international community to take all possible measures for political, diplomatic, and public pressure on the authorities of the Russian Federation in order to release the illegally convicted journalists, stop the violation of the right of the people of Crimea to freedom of speech and free expression of opinions.”
The Union calls on human rights organizations to take legal cases against Ukrainian journalists under constant surveillance, the media to spread information about the journalist prisoners as much as possible, and the authorities to make efforts to release the Kremlin prisoners through exchanges and negotiations.
An extended meeting of the NUJU‘s Board was held yesterday at the central office of the NUJU for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale war. During the plenum, the challenges faced by the journalistic community of Ukraine today were discussed.
The participants of the meeting honored the memory of colleagues killed as a result of Russian aggression with a minute of silence. According to the NUJU, at least 67 journalists have been killed since the full-scale war began.
NUJU Information Service
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