The Russian occupation authorities sentenced a journalist from Kherson region, Hennadiy Osmak, to 3 years and 2 months in prison. Since 2014, the journalist has been actively covering events on the administrative border with occupied Crimea.
As reported by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, he is currently being held in the Chongar detention center.
Osmak was convicted on falsified charges of "participation in the Noman Chelebidzhikhan battalion" and allegedly working as a "PR manager" in it. Human rights activists emphasize that the verdict is directly related to his journalistic activities and his principled refusal to cooperate with the occupation administration.
According to the CTRC sources, after his detention in early March 2024, Osmak was tortured, which significantly worsened his health. He developed severe diabetes and serious spinal problems.
Now the journalist is in relatively stable conditions - his family is able to send him medicines and dietary food. A lawyer was hired privately. At the same time, human rights activists emphasize that even despite the "mild" sentence, real threats to life in such conditions remain high.
It is also known that after the occupation of the Kherson region, he was forced to obtain a Russian passport. Despite the fakes of pro-Russian channels, this was not a voluntary step.
The Crimean Tatar Resource Center called on Russia to immediately release the journalist and emphasizes that the case of Gennadiy Osmak is another example of systemic pressure on freedom of speech under Russian occupation.
Another example of repression is that a Crimean artist was sentenced to 15 years in prison for an anti-war rally: he poured blue and yellow paint on the facade of the occupation administration. Despite the pressure and ill-treatment, the man does not give up - he draws and writes letters from behind bars, supporting the spirit of resistance.
Meanwhile, on April 9, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted an important resolution that for the first time directly recognizes the need to compensate Ukraine for the damage caused by Russia since 2014, including the occupation of Crimea.
Ірина Глухова