Repressions of media workers in Crimea told to the world: unique study published

The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine presented a special edition entitled "Truth Trials in Crimea: Stories of 20 Ukrainian Journalists Subjected to Russian Repression".

According to the NUJU, this is the first large-scale study that highlights the mechanisms of fabrication of criminal cases against media representatives on the occupied peninsula.

The collection is the result of many months of work by NUJU journalists and experts who conducted a human rights analysis of falsified cases against professional and citizen journalists in Crimea.

The project was curated by a well-known Crimean journalist Mykola Semena, who himself experienced persecution by the Russian authorities. The publication contains the stories of 20 journalists, including Vladyslav Yesypenko, Nariman Dzhelal, and Iryna Danylovych, who became victims of repression because of their professional activities.

"We want to show the world that the persecution of journalists in Crimea is a systemic policy of the occupation authorities. Behind each case are the fates of specific people who suffered only for fulfilling their professional duty," said Serhiy Tomilenko, the head of the NUJU.

According to human rights activist Daria Svyrydova, the occupation authorities are using falsified evidence and testimonies obtained under torture to accuse journalists of terrorism and espionage.

Human rights activists Tetyana Pechonchyk (ZMINA), Daria Svyrydova (AZONES) and Serhiy Zayets (Institute for the Development of Regional Press) took part in the creation of the collection.

The project was prepared with the support of the Swedish organization Civil Rights Defenders.

Recently, at a meeting of the Kherson regional organization of the NUJU, it was decided to expel from the Union four people who collaborated with the occupation authorities or left Ukraine in the context of a full-scale war. Among those expelled from the NUJU are six people who had previously received high state awards.

Over the two years of war, 70 media workers have become victims of the Russian invasion. Of these, 10 were killed while carrying out journalistic activities, 47 as combatants, and 13 as a result of Russian shelling or torture.

Ірина Глухова