Ukraine 5 AM Coalition which includes the IMI receives an award from a German institute

The Ukraine 5AM Coalition, which includes the Institute of Mass Information, received an award from the Berlin-based Institute of International Relations (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen), the Coalition writes on Facebook.

During the ceremony, a Coalition representative, ZMINA Center for Human Rights analyst Onysia Syniuk noted that the award signaled that the work currently performed by the Coalition of 38 organizations and four experts has a global visibility and prominence. 

"We have always been fighting for human rights in Ukraine: the right to a fair trial, freedom of speech, freedom from discrimination. The war made adjustments to our agenda. Ukrainians, human rights activists and others, are forced to fight for their right to life, the right to freedom.

"Russia ruins our plans and our lives. To have the ability to freely create, develop our culture and art, grow in terms of education and science, join the leading world developments, today we are fighting for this right, which Russia is trying to take away. Our scholars, educators, cultural figures moved from their offices and galleries to trenches, and switched from conferences, concerts and exhibitions to combat missions. In order to make all this possible again in the future," Onysia Syniuk said.

Onysia Syniuk mentioned the artists who chose to defend their homeland and fight for freedom with a weapon in their hands even though they could have been conquering world operas instead, such as Vasyl Slipak, who died in 2016, or ballet dancers Vadym Khlupyanets and Artem Dacyshyn.

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine also affects freedom of speech. Today, the international list of imprisoned journalists includes 17 Ukrainians who were unlawfully arrested by Russia in the temporarily occupied territories. Most of the detainees are Crimeans. Russia illegally holds cultural figures and artists captive. They are charged with crimes just for peacefully resisting the occupation.The Crimean artist Bohdan Ziza was sentenced to 15 years behind bars and charged with terrorism for pouring yellow and blue paint on the Russian administration building in Yevpatoria as a sign of protest.

"Moreover, Russia has killed 70 journalists since February 24, 2022. 10 died while reporting, 60 were killed as combatants or by Russian shelling or torture," Onysia Syniuk added.

In the past, the ifa Award was received by Yoko Ono in 2013, and by Human Rights Watch in 2016, and by the Turkish human rights activist, philanthropist and businessman Osman Kavala last year.

Ukraine 5AM Coalition was created on February 25, 2022, the day after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine started. It is a coalition of 38 human rights organizations that collect evidence and document war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the course of Russia's armed aggression in Ukraine. The IMI is a participant of the coalition.