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Occupiers to transfer Yesypenko to a colony soon – Yesypenko's wife

24.08.2022, 12:58

Soon, the occupiers will transfer Radio Liberty journalist and kremlin's political prisoner Vladyslav Yesypenko to a colony.

This was stated by the journalist's wife Kateryna Yesypenko on August 23 at a press conference in Kyiv, Ukrinform reports.

According to her, with the beginning of russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, the conditions in which the enemy is keeping Ukrainian political prisoners in the temporarily occupied Crimea have worsened – the detainees are being "compacted," because more and more hostages are being brought in.

"My husband, Radio Liberty journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko, has been behind bars for a year and a half, locked in one room for a year and a half – it's quite hard... Vladyslav is still in pre-trial detention center No. 1 in the city of Simferopol, right where he was... he should be transferred to a colony in the near future, unfortunately, we don't know where... The detention conditions have worsened with the start of the full-scale armed invasion, detainees have been 'compacted' because new prisoners were being brought in... There are a lot of people there," she said.

Kateryna Yesypenko stressed that many people were supporting Vladyslav, that he had a strong spirit and character and was never afraid to speak the truth.

"We know very well that Vladyslav's arrest is illegal... The purpose of this arrest was to silence Vladyslav and scare those who share his views," the political prisoner's wife said.

As IMI reported, on August 18, the russia-controlled Supreme Court of Crimea reduced Vladyslav Yesypenko's sentence from six to five years in a general regime colony. The journalist's defense is going to contest this ruling in cassation and request parole for Yesypenko in half a year. Yesypenko will also have to pay a fine of 110,000 russian rubles.

On February 16, the russian-controlled Simferopol District Court sentenced Krym.Realii freelancer Vladyslav Yesypenko to six years in penal colony for alleged illegal storage and transportation of an explosive device.

Speaking in court on February 15, Yesypenko said the case was politically motivated.

On March 10, 2021, russian FSB officers detained "Radio Svoboda" freelancer journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko in the occupied Crimea. Yesypenko took part in a demonstration dedicated to Taras Shevchenko's birth anniversary, which took place in Simferopol on March 9. Vladyslav Yesypenko was charged with gathering information "in the interests of Ukraine's special services," including the Foreign Intelligence Service, the russian FSB's Public Relations Center reported. According to the FSB, Yesypenko "had been performing photo and video recording of the area, welfare facilities, and places of mass gatherings of people in the Crimea."

Vladyslav Yesypenko has stated that FSB investigators had tortured him in order to extract a confession from him.

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