Vladyslav Yesypenko

Vladyslav Yesypenko and his wife Kateryna Yesypenko lived in Sevastopol, Crimea prior to the Russian annexation of Crimea. They then moved to Kryvyi Rih in Ukraine. Yesypenko holds dual Russian-Ukrainian citizenship. ==Career==

In 2016, Yesypenko began doing freelance work as a contributor to Krym.Realii (Crimea.Realities), a Ukrainian Service outlet of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) focusing on the Crimea. He wrote about the Crimean Tatar community, focusing on social and ecological impacts such as lack of electricity, deteriorating training facilities for football teams, and the destruction of a Crimean nature reserve. == Arrest and trial ==

On March 10, 2021, Yesypenko was detained by the Federal Security Service, while driving through the Angarskyi Pass in Crimea. On March 12, 2021, Yesypenko was charged with “illegal production, repair, or modification of firearms”. On July 15, 2021, Yesypenko was charged with “possession and transport of explosives”. Yesypenko was not allowed independent legal representation. Lawyers retained by his family to represent him were denied access to him. The family's lawyers were told that Yesypenko had refused their assistance. During his trial, Yesypenko stated that he was tortured during his imprisonment and forced to make a false confession, which he now rejected. Yesypenko denied the charges, and stated that an explosive device claimed to have been in his car had been planted during his detention. It was shown in court that the device in question was too large to fit in the glove compartment where officers claimed to have found it. Nonetheless, on February 16, 2022, Simferopol City Court sentenced Yesypenko to six years in prison and a fine of 110,000 Russian rubles for possession and transport of explosives. == Responses ==

The Council of Europe assigned Yesypenko's case a rating as a Level 1 alert, on its Platform for the Protection of Journalism. This rating indicated "the most severe and damaging violations of media freedom, having a severe impact on media freedom". The Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) presented a statement on Yesypenko's case during the 47th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in July 2021. A statement was also made to the Council by the delegation of Ukraine. Yesypenko appealed to the Russian-established High Court of Crimea. On August 18, 2022, the High Court uphold his conviction but reduced his sentence to five years in prison, shortening it by one year. As of September 8, 2023, the European Union sanctioned two judges, a prosecutor and two FSB officers who were involved in the arrest, torture and prosecution of Vladyslav Yesypenko. == Release ==

On June 24, 2025, Yesypenko was released, after spending over four years of his original six-year sentence in prison. He rejoined his wife Kateryna and daughter Stefania in Prague. In 2025, Yesypenko and Dmytro Khyliuk testified before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) about violations of international law against Ukrainian prisoners. Yesypenko’s broken glasses were included in an accompanying exhibition, “Press In Detention”. The exhibition listed twenty-six Ukrainian journalists as currently incarcerated by Russia. ==Awards and honors==

• 2021, Levko Lukianenko State Scholarship • 2022, Ihor Lubchenko National Prize for the Protection of Freedom of Speech, National Union of Journalists of Ukraine. • 2022, Free Media Award, Stiftelsen Fritt Ord and ZEIT-Stiftung • 2022, PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, PEN America ==References==