Credit: Radio Liberty
Vlasyslav YESYPENKO, the journalist, charged by the occupiers with “ties with the Ukrainian special services” and “storage and transportation of the ammunition”, is freed.
As Kateryna YESYPENKO, Vladyslav’s spouse, informs the Crimean Human Rights Group, he has been freed from the colony in the occupied Kerch and left the peninsula.
After apprehension, Vladyslav was tortured and subjected to pressure in order to make him plead himself guilty. In February 2022 Vladyslav was convicted. Since then his family, the HRDs and the civil society have been fighting for his release.
Starting from 1 September 2022 Vladyslav was held in the penitentiary no.2 of Kerch, as Kateryna YESYPENKO, the journalist’s spouse, reminded.
As a reminder,
• On 10 March 2021 Vladyslav YESYPENKO, born in the city of Kryvyi Rih, was detained on the Angar pass. The editor team of “Krym Realii” tasked him to work on peninsula. In particular, the day before his apprehension he had made photos of laying of flowers at the monument to T. Shevchenko in Simferopol.
• The FSC claimed he allegedly worked for the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine and the “explosive device was found” in his car.
• The journalist shared details how, once apprehended on 10 March, he was tortured by the russian law-enforcement officers to make him confess in alleged cooperation with the Ukrainian intelligence. For instance, he informed that the officers has put a pack on his head depriving him of possibility to breath in order to make him plead himself guilty.
• On 16 February 2022 Dlyaver BERBEROV, ”the judge”, found YESYPENKO to be guilty of storage and upgrade of the explosive device and sentenced him to 6 years of imprisonment in the general regime colony and to the fine equaling to RUB 110 000.
• On 26 May 2022 the appeal against the verdict to V. YESYPENKO was due for consideration by “the Supreme Court” of Crimea, but it withdrew the case from the consideration and remitted the case to the first instance “court” to eliminate the defects: the defence side should get acquainted with the record of the court hearing. The judgment was not quashed, it was merely a technical issue.
• On 18 August 2022 the verdict was reconsidered by the court of appeal: the term of imprisonment was reduced by 1 year: “the Supreme Court of Crimea” ruled to imprison v. YESYPENKO for 5 years in the general regime colony and to fine him for RUB 105 000.
