East SOS: Journalist turned soldier Denys Matsola has been in Russian prison for three years

The charity foundation East SOS and several other human rights organizations, activists, and media workers are calling on people to sign a petition demanding the rescue of the Ukrainian prisoner of war, human rights activist, journalist, and publicist Denys Matsola from Russian captivity, reports East SOS.

The foundation says that Denys Matsola, an immigrant from Crimea, was taken prisoner by the occupiers on April 4, 2022. He was defending Mariupol as part of the separate marine battalion No. 501 of the Ukrainian Navy brigade No. 36, whose soldiers were surrounded and captured in early April 2022.

Denys enlisted in 2021 when he learned that Russia had gathered troops near Ukraine's borders. He was invited to battalion No. 501 by his friend Vladyslav Zhuravlyov, who has served there since 2017 and is now also a POW and has suffered brutal torture.

Denys Matsola. Photo by East SOS

The foundation writes that Denys's friends, family, and colleagues had been silent about his imprisonment for three years, fearing that speaking out would compromise the POW exchange process. But he has been detained in inhumane conditions for too long, so they decided to make the issue public.

Denys Matsola is being held in pre-trial detention center No. 2 in Kineshma, Ivanovo region, Russia. As reported by former POWs who were imprisoned there, he has been continuously held in solitary confinement since April 2023, for almost two years now.

“In 2024, the PTDC staff deliberately starved him – they barely fed him for three months. We fear that such conditions may irreparably affect Denys’ mental and physical health. In our opinion, the torture and ill-treatment faced by Denys is related to his consistent pro-Ukraine stance, as well as his many years of activism and work in human rights for Ukraine's future,” the foundation stresed.

East SOS added that Russian special services know that Denys Matsola is a Crimean and has taken part in protests against the occupation of Crimea, which may cause prejudice and cruelty on their part.

"We realize that it is no use to call on a state like Russia to respect human rights, especially with regard to Ukrainian prisoners of war. However, we are convinced that international organizations, governments, and the Ukrainian authorities should be doing more to stop the torture and rescue prisoners of war detained on the territory of the aggressor country," the human rights activists write.

Who is Denys Matsola

Denys Matsola was born and lived in Simferopol until the occupation of Crimea. While studying at Tavria University, he took up public activism. He was a founder and leader of the independent trade union Student Action, participated in campaigns against illegal real estate development, destruction of environment, and supported the Crimean Tatar national movement. In late 2013, he joined the group of several initiatives in support of the Crimean Maidan, which later transformed into a resistance movement against the Russian occupation of the peninsula. He helped Ukrainian soldiers in the units blocked by the occupiers.

In 2015, he moved to Kyiv, where he worked as a journalist in news projects of the charity foundation East SOS. He reported on the battlefield developments.

In 2016, Denys moved to Lviv, where he joined local civil society. He took part in protests against illegal construction in the historic center of Lviv, as well as in self-education and sports projects. He helped the Ukrainian army as a volunteer and joined the campaign in support of Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia, such as filmmaker Oleh Sentsov and anarchist Oleksandr Kolchenko, who is Denys Matsola's close friend.

In 2017, Denys Matsola joined the organization “Right to Defense”. He was also a contributor for the website Krym.Realii (a Radio Liberty project), covering life on the Russian-occupied peninsula.

The petitioners appeal to:

• President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky;
• Defense Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine;
• Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War;
• Verkhovna Rada Vice-President for Human Rights;
• Representatives of the state apparatus involved in the exchange process;
• International Committee of the Red Cross;
• UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances;
• head of states and diplomatic institutions worldwide.

The petitioners called on them to contribute to the release of Denys Matsola within the limits of their authority.

You can sign the petition here.