{"id":37198,"date":"2024-10-12T22:10:05","date_gmt":"2024-10-13T02:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/ukrainian-journalist-27-who-chronicled-russian-occupation-dies-in-prison\/12\/10\/2024\/"},"modified":"2024-10-12T22:10:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-13T02:10:05","slug":"ukrainian-journalist-27-who-chronicled-russian-occupation-dies-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/ukrainian-journalist-27-who-chronicled-russian-occupation-dies-in-prison\/12\/10\/2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian journalist, 27, who chronicled Russian occupation dies in prison"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Viktoriia Roshchyna disappeared in August 2023 in a part of Ukraine now occupied by Russian forces.<\/p>\n<p>It took nine months for Russian authorities to confirmed the journalist had been detained. They gave no reason.<\/p>\n<p>This week, her father got a terse letter from the defence ministry in Moscow informing him that Victoria was dead, aged 27.<\/p>\n<p>The document said the journalist\u2019s body would be returned in one of the swaps organised by Russia and Ukraine for soldiers killed on the battlefield. The death date was given as 19 September.<\/p>\n<p>Again, there was no explanation.<\/p>\n<h2>Vigil for Viktoriia<\/h2>\n<p>This weekend, friends gathered to remember Viktoriia on the Maidan in central Kyiv. They shuffled into position on the steps holding her photograph, young face smiling out at the small crowd.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe had huge courage,\u201d one woman began the tributes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will miss her enormously,\u201d said another, turning away as her eyes filled with tears.<\/p>\n<p>Viktoriia\u2019s stories were snapshots of life that Ukrainians were not getting from anywhere else.<\/p>\n<p>Reporting from occupied areas of Ukraine was extremely dangerous, but her colleagues remember how she was desperate to go there, even after she was detained and held in custody the first time, for ten days.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer parents used to call and tell us to stop deploying her, but we never did deploy her!\u201d one of her former bosses recalled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll her editors tried to stop her. But it was impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The young reporter eventually went freelance in order to deploy herself and when she got back newspapers would buy her reports.<\/p>\n<p>Most strikingly, she never used a pseudonym even though she wrote openly of &#8220;occupied&#8221; territory and referred to those who collaborated with the Russians as &#8220;traitors&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wanted to provide information about how those cities live under siege by the Russian army,\u201d Sevgil Musaieva, editor-in-chief at Ukrayinska Pravda, told the BBC.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was absolutely amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Detention<\/h2>\n<p>Viktoriia&#8217;s father has previously described how she set out via Poland and Russia last July, heading for occupied Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>It was a week before she called to say she\u2019d been interrogated at the border for several days.<\/p>\n<p>All we know for sure after that, is that by May she was in Detention Centre No. 2 in Taganrog, southern Russia \u2013 a facility so notorious for the brutal treatment of many Ukrainians that some dub it the &#8220;Russian Guantanamo&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Media Initiative for Human Rights, another Ukrainian citizen who was released from Taganrog last month has told Viktoriia\u2019s family she saw the journalist on 8 or 9 September.<\/p>\n<p>Then, there was cause for hope.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was 100% sure she\u2019d be back on 13 September this year. My sources gave me 100% guarantees,\u201d Musaieva, from Ukrayinska Pravda, says.<\/p>\n<p>She had been told Viktoriia would be included in one of the periodic prisoner-of-war swaps that Ukraine and Russia carry out, planned for the middle of last month.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo what happened with her in prison? Why didn\u2019t she come home?\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure\">\n<div class=\"caas-figure-with-pb\" style=\"max-height: 540px\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-lightbox caas-img-loader\" style=\"padding-bottom:56%\" data-lightbox-src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/B7SndulhdNqyae4kY1PKIw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI0MDA7aD0xMzUw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/415ebf2487683f6720cbd21ced96267d\"><span class=\"caas-img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sevgil Musaieva, editor-in-chief at Ukrayinska Pravda, says her colleague wanted to shine a light on the hardships of life in cities occupied by the Russian army\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/2BdRU.yaJiJUaL0WS3fVVg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/415ebf2487683f6720cbd21ced96267d\" class=\"caas-img\"\/><button class=\"link caas-lightbox\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;elm:expand;itc:1\"><span class=\"openArrows icon\"><svg width=\"22\" height=\"22\" viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\"><path d=\"M12.372 0.92C12.372 0.414 12.782 0.004 13.287 0.004L21 0L20.996 7.712C20.996 8.217 20.586 8.628 20.08 8.628C19.574 8.628 19.164 8.217 19.164 7.712V3.183L12.337 10.011L10.988 8.663L17.816 1.835H13.287C12.782 1.835 12.372 1.425 12.372 0.92ZM1.835 17.816L8.663 10.988L10.012 12.337L3.183 19.164H7.712C8.218 19.164 8.627 19.574 8.627 20.08C8.627 20.586 8.218 20.995 7.712 20.995L0 21L0.004 13.287C0.004 12.782 0.414 12.372 0.92 12.372C1.425 12.372 1.835 12.782 1.835 13.287V17.816Z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\">Sevgil Musaieva says her colleague wanted to shine a light on the hardships of life in cities occupied by the Russian army [BBC]<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Viktoriia was moved, with another Ukrainian woman, but neither were included in the prisoner exchange.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat means she was taken somewhere else,&#8221; says Media Initiative director Tetyana Katrychenko. &#8220;They say to Lefortovo. Why there? We don\u2019t know.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>She says it\u2019s not normal practice ahead of a swap.<\/p>\n<p>Lefortovo prison in Moscow is run by the FSB security service and used for those accused of espionage and serious crimes against the state.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe they took her there to start some kind of court proceeding or investigation. That\u2019s happened to other civilians taken from Kherson and Melitopol,\u201d Tetyana says.<\/p>\n<p>The BBC understands that Viktoriia\u2019s father had spoken to her in prison on 30 August.<\/p>\n<p>At some point, she had called a hunger strike, but that day her father urged her to start eating again and she agreed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat needs investigating. It also means we\u2019d be blaming her, partially, and not the Russian Federation, as we should,\u201d Tetyana cautions.<\/p>\n<p>Ukraine\u2019s intelligence service has confirmed Viktoriia\u2019s death and the General Prosecutor\u2019s office has changed its criminal case from illegal detention to murder.<\/p>\n<p>In Russia, Viktoriia was never charged with any crime and the circumstances of her detention are not known.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA civilian journalist \u2026 captured by Russia. Then Russia sends a letter that she died?\u201d Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Yurchyshyn told the BBC in Kyiv.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s killing. Just the killing of hostages. I don&#8217;t know other word.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russia hasn&#8217;t commented.<\/p>\n<h2>Civilian hostages<\/h2>\n<p>Since the start of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion, huge numbers of civilians have been taken from areas of Ukraine that Moscow has overrun and now controls.<\/p>\n<p>Like Viktoriia\u2019s family, desperate relatives are left with little or no information on their whereabouts or wellbeing, and no idea whether they\u2019ll ever get home.<\/p>\n<p>So far, the Media Initiative has collated a list of 1,886 names.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There\u2019s all sorts of people, including ex-soldiers and police officers and local officials like mayors,\u201d Tetyana says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd of course there may be many more we don\u2019t know about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neither lawyers nor the Red Cross get access and even if someone\u2019s location can be confirmed, getting them back home is almost impossible: civilians are rarely swapped.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure\">\n<div class=\"caas-figure-with-pb\" style=\"max-height: 540px\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-lightbox caas-img-loader\" style=\"padding-bottom:56%\" data-lightbox-src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/wsSxGmPGWqpASOu5IsxSGw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTIwODA7aD0xMTcw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/81474e375d12d32c507b9c1f7b87380f\"><span class=\"caas-img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-lazy has-preview\" alt=\"Roshchyna's colleague Nataliya Humenyuk said she left behind a great legacy\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/rOXWdh_HOnh7jxuHOOo4jg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/81474e375d12d32c507b9c1f7b87380f\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Roshchyna's colleague Nataliya Humenyuk said she left behind a great legacy\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/rOXWdh_HOnh7jxuHOOo4jg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/81474e375d12d32c507b9c1f7b87380f\" class=\"caas-img\"\/><button class=\"link caas-lightbox\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;elm:expand;itc:1\"><span class=\"openArrows icon\"><svg width=\"22\" height=\"22\" viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\"><path d=\"M12.372 0.92C12.372 0.414 12.782 0.004 13.287 0.004L21 0L20.996 7.712C20.996 8.217 20.586 8.628 20.08 8.628C19.574 8.628 19.164 8.217 19.164 7.712V3.183L12.337 10.011L10.988 8.663L17.816 1.835H13.287C12.782 1.835 12.372 1.425 12.372 0.92ZM1.835 17.816L8.663 10.988L10.012 12.337L3.183 19.164H7.712C8.218 19.164 8.627 19.574 8.627 20.08C8.627 20.586 8.218 20.995 7.712 20.995L0 21L0.004 13.287C0.004 12.782 0.414 12.372 0.92 12.372C1.425 12.372 1.835 12.782 1.835 13.287V17.816Z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\">Roshchyna&#8217;s colleague Nataliya Humenyuk said in a tribute on social media that she left behind a great legacy [Nataliya Humenyuk\/Hromadske]<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Viktoriia\u2019s friends and colleagues say they won\u2019t rest until they\u2019ve investigated what happened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer life was her work,\u201d Angelina Karyakina, a former editor at Hromadske says. \u201cIt&#8217;s a rare type of people who are so determined.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m pretty sure the way she would want us to remember her is not to stand here and cry, but to remember her dignity,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I think what\u2019s important for us journalists, is to find out what she was working on \u2013 and to finish her story.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" style=\"display:block\" class=\"lazyload\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=75&resize=75 75w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=100&resize=100 100w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=150&resize=150 150w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=240&resize=240 240w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=320&resize=320 320w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=500&resize=500 500w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=640&resize=640 640w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=800&resize=800 800w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=1024&resize=1024 1024w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=1280&resize=1280 1280w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=1600&resize=1600 1600w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/\"\/><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/ukrainian-journalist-27-chronicled-russian-230059538.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Viktoriia Roshchyna disappeared in August 2023 in a part of Ukraine now occupied by Russian forces. It took nine months for Russian<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/ukrainian-journalist-27-who-chronicled-russian-occupation-dies-in-prison\/12\/10\/2024\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37198"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}