Donbas terrorists jail human rights activist Butkevych for 13 years
The so-called "supreme courts" of the Russian terrorist enclaves in the "LDPR" (Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics) in the occupied part of Donbas have convicted Maksym Butkevych, a human rights activist and journalist who served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and was captured, to 13 years in prison.
Source: Novaya Gazeta Europe, referring to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation
Details: Illegitimate courts have reportedly sentenced two more Ukrainians, Viktor Pokhozey and Vladyslav Shel, to eight and a half and eighteen and a half years in jail respectively.
The terrorists accused the Ukrainians of "ill-treatment of civilians and the use of prohibited methods in armed conflict".
For reference: Maksym Butkevych joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine in March 2022. He is a Ukrainian human rights activist and journalist and the co-founder of ZMINA and Hromadske radio.
Background:
- Butkevych was captured by the Russians in June 2022. Russian propagandists reported on Butkevych's capture by publishing a video of the interrogation. It was alleged that the Ukrainian military, including Butkevych, "surrendered near Hirske".
- On 23 February, at the Berlin Film Festival, representatives of the Ukrainian film industry called upon the international cultural community to demand Butkevych's release from Russian captivity.
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