Crimean political prisoner and journalist from Kherson region faces six months in solitary confinement

Serhiy Tsygipa, a journalist and political prisoner from Kherson region, is subjected to systemic pressure in the Russian colony - he has been repeatedly placed in the punishment cell, and now they plan to transfer him to a punishment cell for six months. His wife continues to fight for his release and urged not to leave journalists off the exchange lists.

This was reported by his wife Olena Tsygipa in a comment to the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

Crimean political prisoner and journalist from Kherson region Serhiy Tsygipa is under constant pressure in colony #3 in Skopin, Ryazan region.

According to her, her husband has been repeatedly sent to the punishment cell, and now the colony administration is considering transferring him to the punishment cell for at least six months. The woman is convinced that they are trying to break Serhiy's morale in this way.

Journalists are no less important in this war than the military. They are defending Ukraine with their words, informing the world, risking their lives," said Olena Tsygipa.

She continues to advocate for her husband's release, including communication via international mail. According to her, Serhiy is very inspired by letters sent by people from abroad. He recently received letters from Germany, and now he is waiting for new ones from the UK.

The Crimean Tatar Resource Center called on the Ukrainian authorities and the international community to pay attention to the fate of the captured journalists. The organization demands to include Serhiy Tsygipa in the lists for the next exchange.

The journalist was kidnapped on March 12, 2022, when he was on his way to Tavriysk to deliver medicine to his mother-in-law. First, he was held in a pre-trial detention center in Simferopol, and later in a colony in Russia. In October 2023, the so-called Supreme Court of Crimea sentenced Tsygipa to 13 years in prison on charges of espionage. The accusation was based on the testimony of anonymous individuals and fictitious examinations by specialists cooperating with Russian special services. The trial was accompanied by gross violations of international law.

Recently, the occupiers transferred Crimean civilian journalist Rustem Sheikhaliev to a colony in the city of Blagoveshchensk. He is one of 24 Crimean Tatar activists convicted after large-scale searches in 2019 and recognized as political prisoners.

Анна Бальчінос