Today at 17:23
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a resolution calling for the immediate release of at least 26 Ukrainian journalists imprisoned by Russia, the introduction of sanctions against those responsible, and stronger international pressure on Moscow.
The resolution, authored by Ukrainian MP Yevheniia Kravchuk, was backed by 128 delegates during a plenary session in Strasbourg (with one abstention).
The document records over 800 crimes against the media, including 108 deaths of Ukrainian journalists since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“Given the Russian regime’s disregard for international law, the only available tool to secure the release of unlawfully detained journalists is political, economic, and diplomatic pressure on the Russian Federation,” the resolution states.
It urges Russia to stop torture, killings, and persecution of journalists, to provide information on the whereabouts and health conditions of detainees, and to grant the International Committee of the Red Cross access to them.
The resolution includes a list of 26 Ukrainian journalists still held captive, with details of their arrest. Journalists Dmytro Khyliuk and Vladyslav Yesypenko, recently freed from Russian captivity, were present at the session.
For the first time, PACE officially used the term “citizen journalists” — referring to non-professional reporters, often Crimean Tatar activists or relatives of political prisoners, who work anonymously under high risk.
The document also calls on Council of Europe member states to support accountability mechanisms such as the Register of Damage, the Claims Commission, and the Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression, as well as to use the International Criminal Court and universal jurisdiction against Russian officials.
Sanctions should apply not only to top officials but also to lower-level perpetrators — including Russian field commanders, fleet officers, General Staff representatives, FSB and GRU operatives, prison authorities, and propaganda enforcers in occupied territories.
Earlier, PACE announced the launch of an annual “Victory for Victoria Day” — a day dedicated to war correspondents and press freedom — in honor of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who was tortured to death in Russian captivity.
