On July 30, the Kursk District Court of the Stavropol Territory once again handed down an illegal sentence to Crimean political prisoner Hennadii Lymeshko. Russia illegally accused the man of allegedly making “public calls for extremist activity” (Part 2 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and sentenced him to two years in a strict regime colony.

Occupation FSB illegally detained Hennadii Lymeshko on August 15, 2017, in occupied Crimea, put a bag over his head, took him out of the city, and forced him to record a confession to crimes he did not commit. The occupiers accused Hennadii of allegedly “preparing sabotage on the orders of the SBU,” but the Ukrainian special services denied the man’s involvement in their activities.

In May 2018, the so-called “Sudak City Court” sentenced the Ukrainian citizen to eight years in prison under articles on illegal possession of weapons (Part 2 of Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and explosives (Part 2 of Article 222.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), as well as the manufacture of explosive substances (Part 2 of Article 223.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

The occupiers illegally transported Hennadii Lymeshko to Penal Colony No. 6 in the Stavropol Territory. His wife, Irina Lymeshko, notes that after the brutal torture inflicted on the political prisoner by FSB officers, he was not provided with medical assistance. As a result of serious injuries sustained from beatings and electric shock torture, the man still complains of chronic joint problems and significant damage to his teeth.

The term of his illegal imprisonment expired in February 2025, but the Russians transferred Hennadii to the Center for Temporary Detention of Foreigners, and since March 13, the Crimean political prisoner has ceased to communicate.

Hennadii Lymeshko, a resident of Kharkiv, moved to Crimea in search of work to pay for his daughter’s treatment. Before that, he worked in Mariupol. 

In the case of Hennadii Lymeshko, the Russian occupation authorities violated the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, in particular Article 7, which defines crimes against humanity. According to this document, a crime against humanity means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack (Rome Statute, Article 7). In the case of Lymeshko, there are at least three such acts: deportation or forcible transfer of population (paragraph d) — removal from the territory of occupied Crimea to the Stavropol region; imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law (paragraph e) — imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law; and torture (paragraph f), which Lymeshko suffered during his detention by the occupying FSB and in prison. 

The case of Hennadii Lymeshko also constituted a gross violation of the provisions of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. According to the Convention, no exceptional circumstances whatsoever — whether a state of war, a threat of war, internal political instability, or any other public emergency — can justify torture. The use of electric shock, beatings, and coercion to extract a “confession” to fabricated crimes is a direct violation of the prohibition of torture, which is imperative in international law.

In addition, the transfer of Hennadii Lymeshko from the temporarily occupied Crimea to a prison in the Stavropol region also violates Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the deportation or transfer of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the occupying power or the territory of any other State, whether occupied or not.

We urge the international community to increase pressure on the aggressor state to release all Ukrainian political prisoners and to hold Russia accountable for crimes against humanity. We reiterate that only the deoccupation of all Ukrainian territories, including the Crimean Peninsula, can stop the violence of the Russian Federation.