On March 9, 2021, Vladyslav Yesipenko attended a rally in Simferopol on the occasion of Taras Shevchenko’s birthday. On March 10, after the rally he was detained and on March 12 by the so-called “Kyiv District Court of Simferopol” in Crimea made a decision on the detention of V. Yesipenko for a period of two months – until May 11. The detainee is accused of illegal manufacture, processing or repair of firearms, their main parts, as well as illegal manufacture of ammunition.

Currently, Ukrainian citizen Vladyslav Yesypenko is deprived of the right to defense because he is not allowed to have independent lawyers. Illegal methods of investigation are applied to him.

According to the occupational FSB, Yesipenko “carried out photovideo recordings of the terrain, objects of life support and public gathering areas in Crimea”.

The real reason for the persecution of Vladyslav Yesipenko is his journalistic activity as a freelancer of “Radio Svoboda”, and the “Crimea.Reality” project.

The Russian Federation is following the Soviet policy, restricting freedom of expression, persecuting journalists, bloggers, and even ordinary social media users so that the only information the world receives about the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol is Russian propaganda. In the Russian understanding of the world, there is no place for human rights and the rights of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, there is no place for the Ukrainian language and culture, there is no place for independent journalism.

Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea records every case of illegal persecution on the territory of the peninsula, transmits it to the law enforcement agencies, as well as communicates with international partners. The persecution of Vladyslav Yesipenko for his journalistic activities in the temporarily occupied territory is a violation of international law. The mission works and will work to protect the rights and interests of citizens of Ukraine living in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.