Bessarabov Oleksiy

Born on December 5, 1976, Oleksiy Bessarabov has a wife and son. He had served as an officer in the Ukrainian Navy, then graduated as a journalist from Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University. He covered military issues, especially that of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

During the first days of his detention, Bessarabov was tortured, particularly with the usage of electric current. He has been imprisoned under the article 281, chapter 2 of the Russian Federation’s Criminal Code ("Sabotage conducted by a group of people or sabotage that caused significant property damage or other grave consequences") and sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony. Following the rejection of the appeal, Oleksiy is detained in the Kochubeyevskoye prison (Stavropol Krai, Russian Federation).

"We, political prisoners, knowing about the preparations of the meeting with the president of Ukraine, and later of the meeting between the president of the USA and the Russian president, believe that the main topic should be immediate liberation of persons illegally detained in prisons all across the Russian Federation and Crimea. It is not a matter of politics, but a matter of restoring the minimal level of trust, honor and morality of the XXI century leaders," Oleksiy Bessarabov, 5 May 2021.