Statement on Victoria Roshchyna by Ukrainian media professionals gains over 270 signatures
The statement by Ukrainian journalists and media professionals calling on the international community to take decisive and immediate action following the murder of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna in Russian captivity has gained 275 signatures. Namely, the journalists called on such organizations as the UN, OSCE, PACE, and the ICRC to take proactive action according to their mandates.
The statement was released on October 11 on the website of the Institute of Mass Information. The signatories include representatives of Ukraine's media field, human rights advocates, foreign journalists, and concerned citizens. The statement is still open to sign.
"Knowing that Victoria Roshchyna spent over a year in prison and that she had been in good physical health before her capture by Russia, we have every reason to believe that her death was either a deliberate act of murder or the result of ill treatment and abuse she suffered while in Russian detention," reads the statement. The full text is available here.
What happened to Victoria Roshchyna
The death of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna in Russian detention was reported on October 10, 2024. According to the letter sent to her family by Russia's Ministry of Defense on October 10, Victoria died on September 19.
Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, said that he had official documentary confirmation of Victoria Roshchyna's death from Russia's side. The news of her death was also confirmed by Petro Yatsenko, a representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Victoria Roshchyna's name was on the swap lists.
Earlier, Russia admitted detaining Victoria Roshchyna, who went missing on August 3, 2023 in the temporarily occupied territory. Victoria was held in Russia.
On October 11, the police reclassified the case opened previously over Roshchyna's disappearance (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) as Part 2 of Article 438 of the CCU: violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premediated murder.
On October 11, chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, announced that the journalist's body would be handed over to her relatives shortly.
The NGO "Media Initiative for Human Rights" (MIPL) reported that Victoria had been kept in one of the most brutal prisons in Russia.
The up-to-date list of Ukrainian journalists captured by Russia is available on the IMI website.
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