#freesushchenko

#freesushchenko #artisnecessary #necessaryartofourtime #necessaryartselfie #necessaryart #necessaryarts (at Ukrainian Institute of America) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByZkTZrAGRk/?igshid=1m1v2ew39h8lc

Roman Sushchenko, a Ukrainian journalist, was detained in Moscow on September 30, 2016, on charges of espionage, and has since been detained in Lefortovo Prison. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claims that Sushchenko is a member of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. The court has repeatedly renewed the term of his pre-trial detention, and on June 4, 2018 the Moscow City Court sentenced Sushchenko to 12 years in a maximum security after finding him guilty for spying. CASE BACKGROUND Roman Sushchenko has worked for Ukraine’s news service Ukrinform since 2002. Beginning in 2010, Sushchenko has been reporting for the agency from France. As Ukrinform’s Paris correspondent, Sushchenko not only covered the political, artistic, and cultural life of France but also exposed Russian propaganda in French news outlets. He was heavily critical of the Russian documentary Ukraine: Masks of the Revolution, broadcast on French TV, which many French reporters also vilified for misrepresenting the events of the Maidan. On September 30, 2016, Sushchenko was arrested in Moscow on charges of espionage and was transported to Lefortovo Prison, where he is currently being detained. Sushchenko was charged under Article 276 of the Criminal Code, which carries a sentence of ten to twenty years imprisonment in a penal colony. The FSB alleges that Sushchenko is “a member of the principal intelligence services of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense,” a statement that Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has since refuted. Sushchenko claims to have been visiting Moscow for personal reasons unrelated to his work at the time of his arrest. He says that he was subjected to psychological torture and was denied to right to call his wife. Russian authorities did not inform Sushchenko’s family, his employer, or the Ukrainian government of his arrest in contravention of international law. His wife only learned about his detainment three days after his initial disappearance. Ukrinform has vouched for the journalist’s flawless reputation and claims the Kremlin’s espionage charges to be “a provocation.” #freesushchenko #beetjuice #foodtrash #ballpointpen #eggshell (at Ukrainian Institute of America) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByKINl7A8DN/?igshid=1vbemy9y3bsad

#FreeSushchenko I had the pleasure of preparing the scans of these artworks for print. They are by Ukrainian journalist Roman Sushchenko who, as a result of reporting on the Russian manipulation of Ukrainian elections, has been in a Siberian prison for 3 years of a 12 year sentence. To keep sane he makes these artworks using ballpoint pen, beet juice, food trash, etc. as he is otherwise not allowed art supplies. From Michael MacKay: Moscow-based journalists are hostages to the Russian regime of state terrorism. The fate of political prisoner Roman Sushchenko awaits them if they report Russia's war against Ukraine and invasion of Crimea & Donbas. As a result, news of Putin's War is embargoed. #politicalprisoner #politicalprisioner #politicalprisoners #freecatalanpoliticalprisoners #freepoliticalprisoners #freepoliticalprisonersandexiles #freeallpoliticalprisoners #freedompoliticalprisoners #politicalprisonersfreedom #politicalprisonersupport #politicalprisonerletterwritingnight #politicalprisonerart #politicalprisonersupport #fredompoliticalprisoners #freedomforpoliticalprisoners (at Ukrainian Institute of America) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByHnWtCAzFL/?igshid=7clrjrpx925r