Krym.Realii journalist tortured by electric shock to confess and released after 4 years

The Radio Liberty journalist was released after being imprisoned in Crimea. His return home was the result of active support from his family and the international community.

This was reported by Krym.Realii.

Vladyslav Yesypenko, a journalist of Radio Liberty, was released after more than four years of imprisonment in Crimea. He was kept behind bars on trumped-up Russian charges, which many experts consider politically motivated.

In October 2024, his wife, Kateryna Yesypenko, spoke at the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension under the Formula for Peace program in Montreal. She spoke in detail about the circumstances of her husband's captivity and actively fought for his release, making significant efforts in international human rights circles.

The journalist was finally released and returned home to his family. "Radio Liberty expressed gratitude to everyone who joined the campaign for his release - human rights activists, diplomats, journalists and the public.

On March 10, 2021, Yesypenko was detained by the FSB on charges of collecting information in favor of the Ukrainian special services and allegedly keeping an improvised explosive device in his car.

For 27 days, independent lawyers were not allowed to see him. At the same time, the state-owned Krym 24 TV channel published an interview with Yesypenko, where he confirmed his work for the Krym.Realii project.

In 2022, a Russian court sentenced Yesypenko to five years in prison and a fine of 110 thousand rubles, although the Russian prosecutor's office demanded 11 years. At the trial, the journalist claimed that he was tortured by security forces, including with electric shocks, to force him to confess.

During his imprisonment, Yesypenko received a number of prestigious awards, including the Free Media Award (2022), the Freedom to Write Award from PEN America (2022), the National Ihor Lubchenko Award, and the Levko Lukyanenko State Scholarship, which is awarded to Ukrainian political prisoners.

In early May, the International Coalition included the case of Vladyslav Yesypenko in the list of the most acute cases of violations of press freedom. The journalist was imprisoned for more than four years, alleging torture, and his arrest was condemned in Ukraine and the United States.

Анна Бальчінос