Ukrainian top media, human right organizations demand investigation into death of journalist Viktoria Roshchyna in Russian captivity

Top Ukrainian media organizations have expressed condolences to the family and colleagues of Viktoria Roshchyna, 27, a Ukrainian journalist who died in Russian captivity, in a statement published by The Institute of Mass Information.

Editor-in-Chief at Euromaidan Press Alya Shandra, Editor-in-Chief of Ukrainska Pravda Sevgil Musaieva, Editor-in-Chief of Hromadske Khrystyna Kotsyra and other media professionals from over 17 Ukrainian top media outlets and human rights organizations have called on Ukrainian, foreign, and international media to highlight this tragedy and conduct independent investigations into the circumstances surrounding Roshchyna’s death.

On 3 August 2023, Roshchyna went missing during a trip to Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine. A month earlier, the journalist went from Ukraine to Poland and was supposed to reach the occupied territories in eastern Ukraine via Russia within three days.

In 2024, Russia confirmed for the first time that it was illegally holding Roshchyna.

On 10 October, the head of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Committee on Freedom of Speech, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, announced that Viktoria’s father received a notification of his daughter’s death, which reportedly happened on 19 September.

According to official information from Russian authorities, her death happened during a transfer from a Taganrog to a Moscow detention facility.

“We urge our colleagues in Ukrainian, foreign, and international media to highlight this tragedy, conduct independent investigations into the circumstances surrounding Viktoria’s death, and help tell the world about the fate of Ukrainian journalists currently held in Russian captivity,” said Ukrainian journalists in the statement.

Ukraine’s media professionals claimed that international institutions mandated to protect human rights must act decisively and immediately.

“We call on international organizations to take urgent action to verify the condition and protect the rights of 29 civilian Ukrainian journalists currently held in Russian captivity,” added Ukrainian media outlets.

The Ukrainian journalists urged the International Committee of the Red Cross to regularly visit prisoners, particularly civilians held by Russia in occupied Ukrainian or Russian territories.

They also called on the United Nations to establish an independent commission to investigate the death of Viktoria Roshchyna.

Media organizations added that freedom of speech is the cornerstone of any democracy.

“When journalists are unlawfully detained, it is not only an attack on individuals but also an assault on the right of everyone to freely express themselves and receive uncensored information,” said the statement.

They appealed to “all those who believe in democratic values to unite in defending these principles and seeking justice for the detained Ukrainian journalists wrongfully imprisoned by Russia.”

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