THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
One must not be silent about this: russia kidnaps, keeps in prison cells, tortures, and tries Ukrainian journalists. On October 6, the Simferopol occupation “court” sentenced journalist and public figure from Nova Kakhovka, Kherson Region, Serhii Tsyhipa, to 13 years in prison for “espionage.”
On his Facebook page, Serhii posted information about the events in the Kherson Region because people were confused and afraid to write about it themselves. After the abduction of the journalist, which took place in March last year, the family did not know where he was for a long time, and only in October 2022 did they learn that Serhii Tsyhipa was being held in Simferopol Pre-Trial Detention Center 1.
During the press conference at the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), dedicated to Serhii Tsyhipa‘s imprisonment, on October 10, the wife of the media journalist, Olena Tsyhipa, spoke about the process and the terrible pressure exerted by the invaders on the journalist. According to her, initially, the prosecutor demanded 19 years for Serhii…
“I am a patriot of my country,” Serhii said in his last words at the “court.” “You kidnapped me from my country. I did what I thought was necessary! I learned about the fact that you announced SVO [special military operation] only six months later, already in Crimea. I don’t care how much you give me – two years or twenty. I understand that this is a case for a show for you; you are trying to scare people. For me, the only option to become free is to wait for the Armed Forces.”
Olena Tsyhipa said that Serhii did not admit his guilt and tried to prove to the “court” that his rights were violated.
According to Olena, the journalist did not have the opportunity to use the services of a lawyer found by the family. Moreover, she received copies of Serhii‘s alleged refusals from the human rights defender, written in uneven handwriting. She said that the graphological examination established that it was written by Serhii Tsyhipa, but it seems that he is under pressure.
The First Secretary of the NUJU, Lina Kushch, expressed her solidarity with journalist Serhii Tsyhipa, who was captured by russia, and expressed her support for him on behalf of the NUJU.
“We are convinced that even behind bars, he will learn that we support him. We express our solidarity with Olena Tsyhipa and want to assure you that you are not alone in your struggle for the release of your husband. Civilian prisoners such as journalists are not combatants, and according to international law, they must be released unconditionally, without any exchanges. However, the Ukrainian legal system and international institutions proved to be unprepared to solve the problems of civilian prisoners in Ukraine. Using the example of Serhii Tsyhipa and other hostages, we can see that this problem is systemic,” said Lina Kushch.
During a press conference at the NUJU, human rights activist and journalist Liudmyla Huseinova expressed outrage at the attitude of the russian occupiers towards civilian prisoners. She called Tsyhipa‘s sentence terrible and said that this is not the only case where people are beaten for rejecting a lawyer. According to Liudmyla Huseinova, Serhii Tsyhipa, and other prisoners are heroes who do not sell their country and do not betray. The human rights activist also reminded that women have been held captive in Snizhniansk Colony of the Donetsk Region for 2-3 years.
Mykola Semena, the secretary of the NUJU, who in 2017 had “experience of Crimean justice,” talked about the attitude of russians towards Ukrainian journalists in Crimea. He said that the deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Ilmi Umerov, called the Crimean “courts” “processes in which traitors judge patriots.”
“It is not for nothing that Serhii Tsyhipa was tried in Crimea because all Crimean “courts” have experience in falsifying any cases. This is a characteristic feature of all these “courts.” Judges are traitors,” Mykola Semena said.
NUJU Information Service
Discussion about this post