12 January 2025

Ukrainian Political Prisoner’s Day

Every year, on January 12, we honor the memory and legacy of those who fought for Ukraine’s independence and freedom at the cost of their own liberty throughout various periods of its history.

A political prisoner is a person who is unjustly persecuted or deprived of freedom for political reasons — targeted for their beliefs, activities, or opposition to and disloyalty toward a regime. Political prisoners have committed no criminal offenses but have become victims of repression due to their views.

In Ukraine, this day was introduced in 1975 at the initiative of political prisoner Vyacheslav Chornovil as a reminder of Soviet repressions against Ukrainian dissidents. Unfortunately, despite the hopes of generations of Ukrainians for a free future, this day remains relevant today, as the Russian Federation — like its predecessors, the USSR and the Russian Empire — continues its attempts to break the will and resistance of the freedom-loving Ukrainian people.

Suppress, silence, eliminate — this is what the criminal Russian regime tries to do to the voices of Ukrainian patriots in occupied territories. For some, this began with the full-scale invasion. Yet, the first Ukrainian political prisoners in Kremlin custody appeared in 2014, following the occupation of Crimea. As of January 2024, at least 218 individuals are unlawfully imprisoned by the occupiers, 132 of whom are Crimean Tatars. Fabricated charges, absurd accusations, and moral and physical pressure have become tools of oppression against any resistance and dissent. History repeats itself, as Soviet dissidents were similarly condemned for “anti-Soviet propaganda” to force them into silence.

But the spirit of freedom is unbreakable. In the 1970s, it burned in the hearts of the Sixtiers, such as Vasyl Stus and Mustafa Dzhemilev. Today, it is upheld by modern political prisoners like Asan and Aziz Akhtemov, Iryna Danylovych, and Vladyslav Yesypenko. Their resilience proves that the occupiers cannot and will never crush the will and spirit of the Ukrainian people.

This day reminds us that freedom does not come easily — it is fought for. Today, as decades ago, we have a duty to defend the rights and freedoms of every Ukrainian who has become a victim of the Russian regime. We believe that, together, Ukraine will free every political prisoner and finally liberate Crimea from the occupiers.