Speech by the wife of political prisoner of Crimea Vladyslav Yosypenko Kateryna Yosypenko at the presentation of the Analysis of Human Rights Violation in the Occupied Crimea for the 1st half of 2021, prepared by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.
Good afternoon! Thank you for being invited to participate in this conference. My name is Kateryna Yosypenko. I am the wife of Radio Liberty freelance journalist Vladyslav Yosypenko, who was illegally captured during an editorial trip to Crimea on March 10, 2021 and recognized as a political prisoner by Ukrainian and international human rights organizations.
Vladyslav was detained the next day after the filming of the laying of flowers by Ukrainian activists at the Taras Shevchenko monument in Simferopol. After being detained with numerous violations, FSB officers planted an object with external signs of an improvised explosive device in his car and imprisoned him in the basement, where they beat out confessions that Vladyslav had filmed videos for Radio Liberty and dubbed them for the Ukrainian special services. He was kicked in the stomach and groin. They also threatened, if Vlad does not confess, to connect an electric current not only to his ears.
Vladyslav is charged with Article 23, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – this is the illegal manufacture of explosives, as well as 222.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – the illegal storage of explosives or explosive devices.
Vladyslav was prohibited from hiring private independent lawyers, he was hidden and, in fact, was not given the right to use qualified legal protection. But the journalist of the Moscow-controlled propaganda channel Krym24 – Oleg Kruchkov, a long-recruited FSB agent – took the so-called interview with Vladyslav. My husband's face was covered with capillaries that had burst from torture. His look and voice spoke of a difficult mental and physical condition.
This interview was taken in violation of human rights, it humiliates the honor and dignity of Vladyslav Yosypenko and was subsequently disseminated by many Russian media for propaganda purposes. And only after the confessions were knocked out, on April 6, independent lawyers were able to enter the case.
At the trial, Vladyslav announced threats to hang him in his cell if he did not confess, but he refused. The pre-trial investigation has been completed for today. The materials of the case were submitted to the court. On July 15, during the trial, the charges will be brought. I believe that the case of Vladyslav Yosypenko, who came to the occupied territory for 4 years to carry out editorial tasks, was fabricated from the very beginning. It is a persecution of a journalist for his professional activities and is aimed at suppressing freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
The story of Vladyslav and other political prisoners is a symbol of the struggle for freedom and justice. Knowing them, it can be argued that human rights continue to be violated in Crimea by the occupation authorities of Crimea. None of the official complaints of the victims resulted in the punishment of those responsible. Conditions in places of detention in Crimea are so unsatisfactory that the placement of prisoners there can be considered as inhumane treatment or punishment. Lawyers also face difficulties in organizing meetings with their clients, standing in line at the pre-trial detention center 1 in Simferopol from 04:00.
In Crimea, the situation is all about absolute legal nihilism and lawlessness. Of course, we must defend our rights in the courts, but today we cannot defend ourselves in the Crimea in the legal field. Human rights in Crimea are trampled into the mud. Our important task today is to record and provide information on violations of human rights in the occupied territory, to form reports as today, since they are especially important for people who are in inhumane conditions.