“They are trying to silence your voice with imprisonment and torture” – Bundestag Vice President writes a letter to russian-convicted journalist Yesypenko

“I will do everything possible to ensure that your voice continues to be heard so that the public learns about the situation in Crimea, about the behavior of the occupiers, about the fate of political prisoners – and above all, about your fate,” emphasized Katrin Göring-Eckardt.

In February, the Vice President of the Bundestag took on political mentorship over Yesypenko.

Previously, the Platform for Promoting the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists of the Council of Europe called for the immediate release of Vladyslav Yesypenko, sentenced by the russian federation to five years in prison.

Vladyslav Yesypenko is a Ukrainian journalist/freelancer for Krym.Realii. Before his arrest, he covered social and environmental issues and conducted surveys of Crimeans.

On March 10, 2021, he was detained in Simferopol. The russian authorities accused the journalist of collecting information “for the benefit of the Ukrainian special services” and storing a “homemade explosive device” in his car.

As a result, Yesypenko was sentenced to five years in a general regime colony and a fine of RUB 110,000. The russian prosecution demanded 11 years in prison for Yesypenko. Yesypenko himself claims that russian security forces tortured him, including with electricity, in order to extract testimony.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called Yesypenko‘s sentence “politically motivated.” The U.S. Department of State also condemned Yesypenko‘s sentence, calling it “another example of abuses by the russian occupation authorities in Crimea.” In 2022, Vladyslav Yesypenko became the laureate of the PEN American Prize, the Barbey Freedom to Write Award, and the NUJU National Prize for the Protection of Freedom of Speech named after Ihor Lubchenko.

In late November 2024, the international human rights organization Freedom Now filed a petition on Yesypenko‘s behalf with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD).

The document, which is in the possession of Krym.Realii, lists numerous cases in which the russian authorities violated the rights of Vladyslav Yesypenko, who was carrying out journalistic work in the russian-annexed Crimea.

According to Freedom Now, the petition is public, and the WGAD will conduct a preliminary review of it in the coming weeks and then forward it to the russian government. Russia will have 60 days to respond. Suppose the russian government does not respond (as has often happened in the past). In that case, the WGAD will continue to consider the case and issue its opinion.