Ukrainian authorities must drop all charges against Vasyl Muravytskyi, a journalist and prisoner of conscience who has spent months in detention for criticizing the Ukrainian authorities’ approach towards Russian-occupied Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Amnesty International said today, ahead of a hearing in the city of Zhytomyr.
Vasyl Muravytskyi is facing a plethora of charges including “high treason”, “threatening the territorial integrity of Ukraine”, “participation in a terrorist organization” and “inciting hatred”. All charges arise from his work with Russian language websites, suspected by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) of being administered from Russia or territories under separatist control in eastern Ukraine.
