Journalists in Trouble is a monthly report of incidents targeting Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalists and their work, and developments affecting press freedom across 23 countries. Subscribe for exclusive updates. 

UKRAINE: RFE/RL President Visits Kyiv, Advocates for Imprisoned Journalist

Last month, RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine, where he met with high-level government and religious figures and discussed the importance of supporting independent media amid Russia’s war on Ukraine. 

Capus met with the Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, as well as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink. In his meetings, Capus highlighted the plight of RFE/RL journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko, who has been imprisoned in Russia-occupied Crimea for more than three years. 

While in Kyiv, Capus also met with Vlad’s wife Kateryna and 10-year-old daughter Stefania, who gave Capus a drawing of her reunited family to bring to U.S. officials as a reminder of her father’s wrongful detention. 

TAKE ACTION: We encourage you to join the call to #FreeVlad on social media. We also encourage supporters to write to Vlad. Learn how to write to him here.  

BELARUS: EP Resolution Urges Action on Political Prisoners

On September 19, the European Parliament adopted a resolution highlighting the “severe situation of political prisoners in Belarus,” including RFE/R­­­­L’s Ihar Losik. Ihar has been unjustly imprisoned in Belarus for over four years and subjected to isolation, ill-treatment, and torture. 

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin also urged action to free Belarusian political prisoners in an October 8 letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The letter named Ihar as well as RFE/RL’s Andrey Kuznechyk who has been detained since November 2021. 

The U.S. Embassy in Minsk expressed solidarity with Ihar in a post on X calling for his immediate release. RFE/RL is grateful for the support for our imprisoned colleagues. 

TAKE ACTION: We encourage you to write to Ihar and Andrey. You may submit your messages in English or Belarusian to the Solidarity Postcards Atelier. Volunteers will mail the journalists handwritten postcards on your behalf.  

UNITED STATES/POLAND: Alsu Kurmasheva Advocates for Her Imprisoned Colleagues

On September 23, recently freed RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was featured on a panel at the Clinton Global Initiative’s 2024 Annual Meeting in New York City. 

The panel, which was moderated by PBS Firing Line host Margaret Hoover, covered how to best support journalists working on the frontlines of global crises. “My colleagues are in danger constantly…We journalists rely on the institutions and legislation of the free world,” Alsu said. “An attack on any journalist in any country is a personal and professional attack on all of us.” Watch a recording of the event here. 

Last month, Alsu and RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus also traveled to Warsaw, Poland, where they met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Radek Sikorski to thank him and the Polish government for their support of media freedom and their efforts to secure the release of political prisoners in Russia and Belarus.  

While in Poland, Alsu attended the OSCE’s Warsaw Human Dimension Conference and advocated for the release of her imprisoned RFE/RL colleagues. 

During a side event organized by the U.S. Mission to the OSCE, Alsu called for action to free all those being held unjustly by Russia. “All that political prisoners need is hope,” Alsu said, remarking on the importance of ensuring political prisoners do not feel forgotten by the world.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• “Every minute Vladyslav, Ihar, Andrey, and every other journalist imprisoned by the Kremlin and its allies are kept behind bars is time stolen from their families,” writes RFE/RL’s Deniz Yuksel for the Wilson Center’s Russia File blog. 

• “I didn’t see the sun for 10 months.” Alsu talked to The Independent’s Bel Drew about her ordeal in Russian prison and the plight of her imprisoned colleagues. 

RUSSIA: Former RFE/RL Journalist Viktoria Roshchyna Dies in Russian Detention

Ukrainian journalist and former RFE/RL contributor Viktoria Roshchyna, who went missing last year while on a reporting trip in Russia-occupied Ukraine, has been confirmed dead in Russian captivity.  

RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said: “We are devastated by reports that Ukrainian journalist and former RFE/RL contributor Viktoria Roshchyna has died in Russian detention. Her unlawful imprisonment and tragic death underscore the high price journalists pay for reporting the truth about Russia’s war on Ukraine. We must honor her legacy by holding her captors accountable.”

My name is Rowan Humphries, Media and Advocacy Officer here at RFE/RL and the author of Journalists in Trouble. Thank you for reading and subscribing to our newsletter and for standing with persecuted journalists.  

If you are interested in collaborating to amplify the stories of our imprisoned journalists, you can reach us by emailing advocacy@rferl.org.