Russians hand down prison terms of up to 16 years to Telegram channel administrators detained in Melitopol

Two Telegram channel administrators, Heorhii Levchenko and Vladyslav Hershon, have been sentenced to prison by Moscow. They were detained by the Russians in the temporarily occupied city of Melitopol in August 2023.

Source: Reporters sans frontières (RSF or Reporters Without Borders)

Details: Levchenko was sentenced on 2 September to 16 years in a strict-regime colony. He was the administrator of RIA-Melitopol, a Telegram-based news outlet. The Russians accuse him of "treason" and "inciting extremism".

The Russian-installed "Zaporizhzhia Oblast Court" in temporarily occupied Melitopol justified its decision by alleging that the news outlet was used "for anti-Russian and pro-Ukrainian propaganda, as well as for passing information to Ukrainian secret services about the deployment of Russian armed forces on the territory of Ukraine".

Hershon was sentenced on 3 September in Rostov-on-Don to 15 years in prison, his family confirmed to RSF. He was the administrator of Melitopol is Ukraine, a Telegram-based news outlet. The Russians accuse him of "terrorism".

In a letter to his family, he wrote that "every morning is hell", describing the unbearable conditions of his detention.

RSF adds that these "first convictions are an alarming signal for four other media workers detained in Melitopol, who are still being held in custody".

These are Maksym Rupchov, Oleksandr Malyshev, Yana Suvorova and RIA-Melitopol journalist Anastasiia Hlukhovska. Rupchov, Malyshev and Suvorova are due to stand the so-called "trial" in September and October. The Russian authorities have not disclosed Hlukhovska's whereabouts since her detention.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!