{"id":40095,"date":"2025-04-09T15:59:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T12:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-vitaliya-krivoshlyka\/"},"modified":"2025-05-27T00:50:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T21:50:49","slug":"my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-vitaliya-krivoshlyka","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-vitaliya-krivoshlyka\/","title":{"rendered":"Vitalii Kryvoshlyk is a political prisoner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>He has been sentenced to twelve and a half years in a strict regime penal colony on a charge of treason for allegedly filming Russian troops at the border with Ukraine<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The \u2018Political Prisoners. Memorial\u2019 human rights project, in accordance with<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/guidelines-on-definition-of-political-prisoner\/\"><strong> <\/strong><strong>international standards<\/strong><\/a><strong>, considers Vitalii Kryvoshlyk a political prisoner. Kryvoshlyk was convicted on a charge of treason for allegedly sending to Ukraine photographs and videos of Russian troops in the first days of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion. Kryvoshlyk\u2019s criminal prosecution and conviction violated his right to a fair trial. We demand the immediate release of Vitalii Kryvoshlyk and that all criminal charges against him be dropped. We also demand a full investigation into his unlawful detention before his being formally remanded in custody.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" src=\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/kryvoslyk-eng.png\" alt=\"Vitalii Kryvoshlyk is a political prisoner\" class=\"wp-image-40097\" srcset=\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/kryvoslyk-eng.png 1200w, https:\/\/memopzk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/kryvoslyk-eng-768x403.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What were the charges against Vitalii Kryvoshlyk?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vitalii Kryvoshlyk is a Ukrainian citizen and an entrepreneur who moved to Russia\u2019s Belgorod Oblast several years ago and obtained Russian citizenship. He travelled frequently to Ukraine on business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 26 February 2022, during a routine border crossing, Russian security forces stopped his vehicle. Upon inspecting his phone, they found photographs and videos of Russian military convoys. FSB officers detained him and held him in an unknown location without opening a criminal case against him until 6 May 2022 when he was remanded in custody. Kryvoshlyk was charged with treason in the form of espionage \u2013 namely the collection and transmission of information on the instructions of a foreign intelligence service for use against the security of the Russian Federation (Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the prosecution, Kryvoshlyk was recruited by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) in 2012. In February 2022, he was allegedly tasked with gathering intelligence on Russian forces in Belgorod Oblast. The investigative authorities claimed that on 24 and 26 February, Kryvoshlyk sent a contact in the SBU photographs and videos via Telegram that showed the movements of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine. Kryvoshlyk pleaded guilty and expressed remorse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 3 August 2023, a court sentenced Kryvoshlyk to 12 years and six months in a strict regime penal colony, with confiscation of his smartphone. The sentence was upheld on both appeal and cassation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why do we consider Vitalii Kryvoshlyk a political prisoner?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Between 26 February and 6 May 2022, Kryvoshlyk was held unlawfully and was probably subjected to pressure to extract a confession. However, this fact was not taken into account by the court during his trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In light of this, we believe the prosecution failed to prove that Kryvoshlyk had been recruited or tasked by the SBU. We reject the court\u2019s conclusion that the Russian invasion of Ukraine served the country\u2019s security interests. In our view, it is Russia\u2019s aggressive war against Ukraine that poses a threat to Russia\u2019s security, not Kryvoshlyk\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if Kryvoshlyk had done what he was accused of, his actions do not constitute a crime. As a Ukrainian citizen, he would have been acting in defence of his homeland against armed aggression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moreover, the sentence imposed is grossly disproportionate to the public danger of his alleged actions. The information he shared about Russian troop movements near the border after the full-scale invasion had begun was publicly accessible and not classified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A detailed description of Vitalii Kryvoshlyk\u2019s case and of our position is available on our<a href=\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/figurant\/krivoshlyk-vitalij-vladimirovich\"> website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Recognition of an individual as a political prisoner does not imply the \u2018Political Prisoners. Memorial\u2019 human rights project agrees with, or approves of, their views, statements, or actions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How can you help?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can write to Vitalii Kryvoshlyk at the following address:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RU: 453256, \u0420\u0435\u0441\u043f\u0443\u0431\u043b\u0438\u043a\u0430 \u0411\u0430\u0448\u043a\u043e\u0440\u0442\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0430\u043d, \u0433. \u0421\u0430\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0430\u0442, \u0441\u0442\u0430\u043d\u0446\u0438\u044f \u042e\u0436\u043d\u0430\u044f, \u0424\u041a\u0423 \u0418\u041a-2 \u0423\u0424\u0421\u0418\u041d \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u0438 \u043f\u043e \u0420\u0435\u0441\u043f\u0443\u0431\u043b\u0438\u043a\u0435 \u0411\u0430\u0448\u043a\u043e\u0440\u0442\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0430\u043d, \u041a\u0440\u0438\u0432\u043e\u0448\u043b\u044b\u043a\u0443 \u0412\u0438\u0442\u0430\u043b\u0438\u044e \u0412\u043b\u0430\u0434\u0438\u043c\u0438\u0440\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0447\u0443 1978 \u0433. \u0440.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>EN: Vitalii Volodymyrovych Kryvoshlyk (born 1978), Penal Colony No. 2, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Republic of Bashkortostan, Yuzhnaya Station, Salavat, Republic of Bashkortostan, 453256, Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also send emails via the<a href=\"https:\/\/f-pismo.ru\/new\/main\/create\/letter\/department\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zonatelecom.ru\/services\/letter\/payments-letter\">ZT<\/a> service (for payment with Russian bank cards), <a href=\"https:\/\/letters-now.org\/\">OVD-Info<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/memorial-france.org\/politzeki\/\">Memorial-France<\/a> (free of charge).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the recipient.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You <a href=\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/donate\/\">can donate<\/a> to help all political prisoners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-40095","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","news-type-nashi-novosti-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Vitalii Kryvoshlyk is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. 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