The international human rights organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on Russia to immediately release the Ukrainian journalists Dmytro Shtyblikov and Oleksiy Bessarabov, who were arrested by Russian special services in occupied Crimea on 9 November 2016, as well as 25 other Ukrainian media professionals who remain in Russian custody.
Shtyblikov and Bessarabov are the Ukrainian journalists who have been detained by Russia for the longest time: this November marks a decade since their arrest.
The organisation retraced the journalists’ stories, shared the details of their detention conditions, and called for their release.
READ MORE
- Ukrainian journalists detained by Russia: Up-to-date list
- Crimean journalist’s health deteriorates in Russian prison
Dmytro Shtyblikov and Oleksiy Bessarabov, two Ukrainian journalists from Crimea who specialise in defence and security issues in the Black Sea region, notably for the local magazine Chornomoska Bezpeka (Black Sea Security).
Their arrests in Sevastopol on 9 November 2016 by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) were part of the so-called “Crimean saboteurs” case. Russia charged the journalists with “sabotage” and “high treason”.
“Ten years in the hands of a regime that hunts down, tortures, and deports Ukrainian journalists. From their arrest by Russian security forces to their deportation and imprisonment in Russia, the cases of Oleksiy Bessarabov and Dmytro Shtyblikov illustrate a coordinated state policy aimed at silencing independent voices in the occupied territories,” said Pauline Maufrais, Ukraine Regional Officer at RSF
She stressed that Russia must be held accountable for persecuting journalists and called for the immediate release of Shtyblikov, Bessarabov, and 25 more Ukrainian media workers.
“RSF calls for their immediate release, along with that of the 25 other Ukrainian journalists who are being unjustly detained. Russia imprisons more foreign journalists than any other country in the world, the majority of whom are Ukrainian. It must be held accountable for these acts,” she said.
Harsh detention conditions and health issues
Now aged 56, Dmytro Shtyblikov is imprisoned in Penal Colony No. 6 in Omsk, Siberia. He suffers from high blood pressure and dental problems, RSF reports.
His daughter, Tetyana, has denounced the “constant psychological pressure”, the worsening of his “chronic illnesses” and the lack of appropriate medical care.
Despite irregular communication, she manages to maintain contact with her father through the Russian prison postal service. A lawyer is also able to visit him every two or three months.
Oleksiy Bessarabov’s situation remains more uncertain. RSF believes the former deputy editor-in-chief of Chornomoska Bezpeka, who will turn 50 in December, to be in the Ulyanovsk region.
The organisation reports that the journalist suffered ill-treatment upon arrival. According to Pavlo Lakiychuk, someone close to him, his health has deteriorated: he reportedly suffers from heart problems and skin lesions, as well as an ulcer he already had before his arrest. He is also believed to have contracted a skin infection during his transfer.
RSF says that during the first years of their detention, both journalists were subjected to torture, including electric shocks.
How the journalists were arrested
The Russian occupation forces carried out a coordingated operation in Sevastopol on 9 November 2016, detaining Bessarabov and Shtyblikov.
Oleksiy Bessarabov was arrested in the street as he was leaving a hospital. RSF says he was forced into a car with tinted windows. Dmytro Shtyblikov was arrested elsewhere in the same city.
It was only a week later that their relatives learned that the two men were being held in a detention centre in Simferopol.
Accused of “preparing acts of sabotage” and “illegal possession of weapons”, the journalists were forced to confess under torture, RSF reports.
Dmytro Shtyblikov and Oleksiy Bessarabov had spent several years documenting maritime security in the Black Sea and the Russian military presence, long before Russia occupied Crimea in 2014. Following the annexation of the peninsula, both men had chosen to remain there despite mounting pressure. People who had worked with Black Sea Security received anonymous threats and were placed under surveillance.
Oleksiy Bessarabov was considering moving to Kherson, in Ukrainian-controlled territory. But he did not have time.
Sentences by Russian courts
In November 2017, Dmytro Shtyblikov was sentenced to five years in prison for “sabotage”. As he approached the end of his sentence, new proceedings resulted in his conviction in November 2021 on charges of “high treason”, for which he was sentenced to 19 years and six months in prison.
His daughter Tetyana denounces an arbitrary judicial system that has repeatedly brought charges against her father: “My father’s story illustrates a particularly cruel and cynical persecution,” she told RSF.
In 2019, Oleksiy Bessarabov was sentenced to 14 years in prison for “sabotage”.
Ten years after their arrest, their relatives continue to campaign to raise awareness of their plight.
“Our family’s greatest hope is that he can be released as part of prisoner exchanges or humanitarian agreements,” Tetyana tells RSF.
According to the Institute of Mass Information, at least 27 Ukrainian civilians working in media and one journalist turned UAF serviceman remain imprisoned by Russia as of 9 November 2026.