The court of the occupiers upheld the sentence of a journalist from Kherson region

The information service of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine reported that the Russian cassation court upheld the verdict for Gennadiy Osmak, a journalist from Genichesk.

This was reported by the NSJU.

Osmak's lawyer asked the court to reduce the term of his stay in a strict regime colony to one year, but the journalist was sentenced to three years and two months.

Gennadiy was detained on March 7, 2024. He is the former editor-in-chief of the Novyi Visit publication. The occupation authorities accuse him of "participating in an illegal military group", in particular, of "popularizing the terrorist battalion named after Noman Chelebidzhikhan".

During his detention in the colony , Gennadiy Osmak was subjected to torture: his transfer was carried out in difficult conditions, and he was not provided with the necessary medicines.

The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine demands the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Osmak, as well as all Ukrainian media workers illegally detained by the Russian occupation authorities.

Also in October, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution calling on Russia to immediately release the 26 Ukrainian journalists currently in captivity. The document uses the term "citizen journalists" for the first time. The resolution emphasizes that these people - mostly Crimean Tatar activists and relatives of political prisoners - take daily risks working anonymously to cover the events of the occupation of Crimea and are often subject to persecution.

The Assembly also officially recorded that since February 24, 2022, Russia has committed more than 800 crimes against media professionals, including 108 murders.

In early December, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine established a Temporary Investigation Commission to investigate war crimes, including murders, injuries, abductions, and torture committed against Ukrainian journalists and media workers. The main tasks of the TIC are to confirm the facts, cooperate with state and international bodies, and ensure parliamentary oversight of the investigation.

Анна Бальчінос