False accusations and broken lives: the “case” of 62-year-old Crimean political prisoner Olexander Osadchy

The manager of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, Zarema Bariieva, spoke about another victim of repression in Crimea. Alexander Osadchy, a Ukrainian of Bulgarian origin, was accused by Russian security forces of “espionage” and “treason.” The man is being held in the Akmesdzhit (Simferopol) pre-trial detention center, his health has significantly deteriorated, and his relatives did not know where he was for almost a year.

She emphasized that despite 12 years of occupation of Crimea, the Russian invaders cannot feel relaxed. This is confirmed by the active reaction of the representatives of the occupying authorities to the sanctions imposed by Ukraine and its international partners.

According to her, when the occupiers realize that they have illegally appropriated what does not belong to them, they see “enemies of the people” everywhere. As a result, arrests on fabricated charges take place on a daily basis in Crimea.

One of the victims of such persecution was a Ukrainian of Bulgarian origin, a native of Kirovograd region (Olshanka village), Alexander Osadchy, born in 1962.

“We managed to identify the man from a video published by the occupiers a year ago, find his relatives, and learn the details of this illegal persecution of a Ukrainian citizen in Crimea,” explained Zarema Bariieva.

According to his relatives, Alexander lived in Kefe (Feodosia) for more than 40 years, settling there immediately after successfully graduating from Odessa University. The man was a well-educated person.

 He worked at a shipyard in Kefe (Feodosia), later went into business and worked as a private entrepreneur. Alexander was a strong mathematician, enjoyed teaching children to swim, prepared an entire program for the restoration of sheep breeding in Crimea, and was one of the developers of the Reikobus program for the Kirovograd region, and published a book translated from Armenian about his favorite marine artist Ivan Aivazovsky, among many other things.

Human rights activist Zarema Bariieva reported that on August 24, 2023, his home was searched, after which Alexander was taken away to an unknown location. For almost a year, the man remained incommunicado, and his relatives knew nothing about his whereabouts.

“It was only in June 2024 that his relatives received news that a

62-year-old Alexander was alive and being held in the Akmesdzhit (Simferopol) pre-trial detention center. On June 12, a court hearing was held, at which his wife learned that Alexander was charged under three articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, for which he faces up to 20 years in prison. According to his relatives, Alexander was accused of “espionage” and “treason.” On July 18, 2024, a video appeared on social media in which Alexander, his face blurred, tells on camera how he “collaborated with the Ukrainian special services” and that he allegedly sent them information about the locations of military facilities, air defense systems, and the infrastructure of the Feodosia commercial seaport, and “confessed to everything,” she explained.

During his time in Russian prisons, Alexander lost a lot of weight and his health deteriorated so much that his relatives, seeing him in court, could not believe their eyes.

“I would like to note that his paternal grandfather, also named Alexander, was repressed and killed in 1937. Alexander always had an active life position, loved Ukraine, as well as Crimea, from where he categorically refused to leave after the occupation,” – Bariieva added.

It is known that Alexander was last in the Kirovograd region a year before his arrest, when he came to visit his 90-year-old mother in July 2023. Today, the old woman is 92 years old and she very much hopes that she will see and hug her younger son, who will be released and come to visit his mother after Ukraine’s victory.