Screenshot: Krym.Realii

Ukrainian independent journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko has been released after serving four years in prison in annexed Crimea, his employer Krym.Realii, the Crimean branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, reported on Sunday.

The news of Yesypenko’s release emerged when Stephen Capus, president and CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, thanked the US and Ukrainian governments for their efforts in helping to have him released.

“For more than four years, Vlad was arbitrarily punished for a crime he did not commit. He paid too high of a price for reporting the truth about what was taking place inside Russia-occupied Crimea. For that, he was tortured, physically and psychologically. While we celebrate his joyous reunion with his wife Kateryna, and their young daughter Stefania, we cannot overlook this family’s pain at the hands of Russian authorities,” Capus said.

Yesypenko flew to Prague where he will undergo medical checks and rest after his ordeal. Yesypenko, whose work covered social and environmental problems in annexed Crimea, was detained in March 2021 and charged with gathering information for the Ukrainian secret services and possession of an improvised explosive.

Originally sentenced to six years in prison and a fine in February 2022, Yesypenko, who said he was tortured with electric shocks and forced to confess, subsequently had the sentence reduced to five years on appeal.