At least 18 Ukrainian journalists from the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula are imprisoned in Russian jails on what rights groups say are politically motivated charges.
One of them is Vladyslav Yesypenko, a contributor to Crimea.Realities, a unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, who marks four years behind bars.
Yesypenko, a dual Russian-Ukrainian citizen, was arrested and jailed on March 10, 2021. In February 2022, a Russian-appointed court in Crimea sentenced him to six years in prison on espionage charges, which he, his employer, and human rights groups have denounced as fabricated.
Several months later, Yesypenko was charged with "possession and transport of explosives," a charge he firmly denies. Prosecutors later admitted that the grenade "discovered" in his vehicle did not bear his fingerprints.
He also rejected accusations of gathering intelligence for Ukraine during his trial.
SEE ALSO: Russia 'Reactivates' Secret Soviet-Era Submarine Base In Occupied UkraineThe highest Moscow-controlled court in Crimea later reduced Yesypenko's sentence to five years in prison.
During his trial, Yesypenko testified that he was tortured with electric shocks to force him into a false confession.
In September 2023, the European Union imposed sanctions on six individuals, including two judges and a prosecutor involved in the case against him as well as two officers from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), whom the bloc said were responsible for his torture.
His wife, Kateryna Yesypenko, has been campaigning for his release.
"My husband is guilty only of informing the world about what is happening in occupied Crimea," she said during a conference in Canada in October aimed at developing a plan for the return of Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia.
Kateryna Yesypenko speaks during an event marking the 70th anniversary of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service in Kyiv in September 2024,
"He knew it was dangerous to do so, but his devotion to his country and the truth was stronger than his fear," she added.
Before his arrest, Yesypenko had been covering social and environmental issues in Crimea, including the lives of Crimean Tatars, ecological crises, and the impact of Russia's occupation on the region.
Major international organizations including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, and PEN America have advocated for his freedom.
Since his imprisonment, Yesypenko has been honored for his work.
In November 2022, he was awarded Ukraine's Ihor Lubenko National Prize for Defending Freedom of Expression.
SEE ALSO: RFE/RL Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva Honored With International Press Freedom AwardEarlier, in May 2022, he received the United States's PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, which recognizes political prisoners.
Moscow illegally seized Crimea in early 2014 and soon backed pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, systematically restricting media and prosecuting journalists who opposed the occupation, according to the CPJ.
Yesypenko is one of four RFE/RL journalists and contributors -- Ihar Losik, Nika Novak, and Farid Mehralizada are the other three -- currently imprisoned on charges related to their work.
Losik, a blogger and contributor to RFE/RL's Belarus Service, was convicted in December 2021 on multiple charges, including "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order," and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Novak, who writes for RFE/RL's Russian Service, was arrested in December 2023 and charged with "collaborating with a foreign organization on a confidential basis." She was sentenced to four years in prison in November by a court in Chita, Russia.
Mehralizada, an economist and journalist for RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, was arrested in Baku in May and is facing charges that could result in up to 12 years in prison.