THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
According to the Krym.Realii website, the Council of Europe mentioned Krym.Realii freelancer Vladyslav Yesypenko who had been accused by russia of “ties with Ukrainian special services” and of “storing and transporting ammunition” in a report dedicated to the persecution of press workers.
The report Press Freedom in Europe: Time to Turn the Tide states that in 2023 the persecution of journalists in the annexed Crimea continues, as evidenced by the detention of journalists Lutfie Zudiyeva and Kulamet Ibrayimov, the sentence of journalist and writer Serhii Tsyhipa on charges of espionage, as well as the refusal the russian authorities to release and provide medical assistance to journalist Iryna Danylovych.
The report notes that in December 2023 alone, at least 17 Ukrainian journalists were detained by russia in Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine.
“The Russian authorities have held at least 27 journalists in detention in December 2023, plus 17 Ukrainian media professionals from the occupied territories. While journalists have been detained for a few days for attempting to cover trials or political meetings, or deported on undisclosed reasons, charges of spreading false information against the armed forces constitute the bulk of the indictments,” the report says.
As earlier reported, on March 10, 2021, the freelance journalist of Krym.Realii, Vladyslav Yesypenko, stopped contacting his relatives – soon it became known that the FSB of russia detained the man, accusing him of “connections with the Ukrainian special services” and later of “keeping and transportation of ammunition.” The russian prosecution demanded 11 years of imprisonment for Yesypenko. On February 16, 2022, the russian judge in Crimea, Dliaver Berberov, sentenced Yesypenko to six years of imprisonment in a general regime colony and a fine of RUB 110,000. Later, on August 18, 2022, the russian-controlled Supreme Court of Crimea reduced Yesypenko‘s sentence to five years in a general regime colony and a fine of RUB 110,000.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called Yesypenko‘s sentence “politically motivated.”
The U.S. State Department also condemned Yesypenko‘s sentence, calling it “another example of abuses by the russian occupation authorities in Crimea.”
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) called the russian verdict in Crimea in the criminal case against Yesypenko a “parody of justice.”
Yesypenko himself claimed in court that the russian security forces tortured him, in particular with electric current, in order to obtain false testimony, and he refused to testify at the pre-trial investigation.
NUJU Information Service
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