Ukrainian Journalists Face Harsh Sentences in Russian Captivity

September 06, 2025 – Ukraine/Russia – 

Russia has delivered severe prison sentences to Ukrainian media figures detained in Russian-occupied Melitopol, prompting widespread condemnation from press freedom organizations.

On September 2, Russian-installed courts sentenced Heorhii Levchenko, administrator of the Telegram channel RIA-Melitopol, to 16 years in a high-security penal colony—convicted of “high treason” and “incitement to extremism.” The authorities alleged that Levchenko used the channel to conduct anti-Russian and pro-Ukrainian propaganda and to pass on Russian troop positions to Ukrainian intelligence services.

A day later, Vladyslav Hershon, who runs the Telegram channel Melitopol tse Ukraina, was handed a 15-year sentence by a military court in Rostov-on-Don on “terrorism” charges. Hershon likened his daily existence in detention to hell in a letter to family members.

The International Press Institute (IPI) denounced both verdicts, warning that these harsh sentences are designed to silence independent journalists and suppress coverage from occupied Ukraine.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also decried the sentencing as a continuation of Russia’s brutal treatment of independent media. CPJ called for Levchenko’s immediate release, highlighting that his long imprisonment comes after nearly two years of captivity for reporting on the war from occupied territory.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warned that these are just the first of the anticipated verdicts against other detained Melitopol media workers. They serve as a chilling message that journalism in occupied regions will be met with the harshest forms of repression.

Reference – 

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/09/4/7529382/

Russian court jails Ukrainian journalist Heorhiy Levchenko for 16 years

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