Journalist Yesypenko, imprisoned in Crimea, is not allowed to communicate with his family
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, employees of a Russian penal colony have obstructed communication with journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko, whom the occupiers of Crimea had convicted for allegedly illegally storing and transporting an explosive device.
Source: Krym. Realii with reference to the journalist's wife, Kateryna Yesypenko
Quote: "There is no way to correspond with him now because there is no way to pay for these letters in Russia. And it is also almost impossible to make calls.
The lawyer goes to see Vladyslav, but their meetings follow a complicated procedure.
Vladyslav called last week for the first time in a long time. He said he was fine. He says there was no communication with him because the administration blocks the possibility of calls."
Details: Kateryna Yesypenko adds that those rare conversations with her husband occur through prison communication and are tapped by the colony administration – so "Vladyslav cannot say much".
She is seeking the release of Vladyslav Yesypenko, who celebrates his birthday on 13 March.
According to Kateryna, two political prisoners died in Russian penal colonies in February alone.
Quote: "It always seems that I do too little because there I cannot reach the final result – the release of my husband. All the work is aimed at his speedy release. There are periods when you feel the strength to defeat everyone and achieve everything, and sometimes you can no longer do anything. But I have no right to give up, because I need to get my husband out, and all our political prisoners too.
Last month, we lost two people who died in Russian colonies. This is the situation where we did not have enough time, somewhere we did not work correctly, or somewhere we did not do enough to free our people before Russia killed them."
Background:
- On 10 March 2021, a freelance journalist of Krym. Realii, Vladyslav Yesypenko, stopped contacting his family – it soon became known that the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) of Russia detained him, accusing him of having "links with the Ukrainian special services" and "storing and transporting ammunition".
- Employees of the FSB of the Russian Federation tortured Vladyslav Yesypenko with electric shock so that he could give "testimony".
- On 16 February 2022, Vladyslav Yesypenko was sentenced to up to 6 years of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony and a fine of 110,000 roubles. The Russian prosecution asked for 11 years in prison for Yesypenko. The journalist's defence achieved a reduced sentence of up to 5 years in prison and a fine of 110,000 roubles.
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