MIP's Statement Regarding Decision of Russian Supreme Court to Uphold Roman Sushchenko's Sentence

The Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine strongly condemns the decision of the Supreme Court of Russia in the trumped-up case of Roman Sushchenko, a correspondent of Ukrinform news agency.

“It is difficult to expect a just decision from the court of last resort in the country which forgot long ago what truth, freedom, and respect for human rights is. But we have to understand that each decision with respect to Ukrainian political prisoners is yet another nail in the coffin of the criminal regime reigning now in the Kremlin,” the Minister of Information Policy of Ukraine, Yuriy Stets, was quoted as saying.

He also stressed that he was increasingly reliant on the support by the international community in matter of freeing Ukrainian political prisoners.

On 12 September 2018, the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the verdict of the Moscow City Court, which sentenced Ukrainian journalist Roman Sushchenko to 12 years in a high-security penitentiary.

Sushchenko emphasised he did not agree with the court’s verdict and would continue fighting for his release, among other things, by lodging a complaint with the European Court on Human Rights.