March 10 of this year marks one year since the sentencing of Ukrainian human rights defender Maksym Butkevich. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
The former BBC journalist has been in captivity in Russia for the past 20 months. The last visit of the lawyer and the information received from Butkevich's parents to the strict regime colony No. 2 in the occupied Luhansk region inspired some optimism. He was finally allowed to correspond, but only within Russia. Emails from friends have already been sent, but they may take some time to arrive.
Maxim said that he did not receive the transmission from the Ukrainian side, which was planned to be handed over to the prisoners of war on the eve of the New Year holidays. Unfortunately, Butkevich did not receive a letter from his parents along with this transfer. Even after the package was received, the Russian side did not confirm that it had been handed over to the prisoners.
Regarding the conditions in the colony, Butkevich was allowed to use the library, which had been forbidden before. His appearance has improved, and his nutrition, according to his mother, should also become better.
Next month, on March 13, the Supreme Court of Moscow will consider a cassation appeal against Butkevich's case. The parents again support the hope of meeting their son and hope for his exchange.
"Our main goal is to wait for Maxim's release. We do not lose hope for his return", emphasizes Yevgenia Butkevich.
Maksym Butkevich decided to join the front at the beginning of a full-scale invasion in 2022, despite having no military experience, except for studying at a military department, where he received a philosophical education.
In June 2022, he was captured along with his unit in the area of the Zolote and Hirske points of the Luhansk region captured by the Russians.
After that, the Russian mass media launched a large-scale disinformation campaign, calling him a "convinced fascist" and "the main subversive of the regimes" in Kazakhstan and Belarus. Dozens of Russian websites spread fake news, classifying him as a "militant", "Nazi", "propagandist" and "Russophobe", even crediting him with inciting the civil war. He was also called the "British spy" because of his past work at the BBC.
Maksym Butkevich is a well-known human rights defender in Ukraine, who has been advocating people's rights for decades and helping hundreds of migrants. His biography includes work in the Ukrainian service of the BBC in London, teaching at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and work at the United Nations.
Colleagues and friends describe him as a pacifist and migrant advocate who has publicly condemned various forms of intolerance and fascism.
Maksym Butkevich devoted almost 15 years of his life to the struggle for human rights. He was a member of the board of the Ukrainian branch of Amnesty International and a co-founder of the organization "Without Borders", which actively opposes xenophobia and racism in Ukraine, and also provides assistance to displaced persons.
Maksym Butkevich distinguished himself in the struggle for the liberation of Kremlin prisoners, in particular director Oleg Sentsov.
"He fought against discrimination, hate speech and advocated that Ukraine does not deport people to countries where they are in danger. He helped them find shelter here," says Volodymyr Yavorskyi, a lawyer from the Center for Civil Liberties, a friend of Maksym.
According to the version of Russian investigators, in June 2022 Maksym fired an anti-tank grenade launcher at the entrance of a residential building in Severodonetsk, where, according to them, there were two people.
However, according to his mother, his unit was never in Severodonetsk, but fought near Zoloty and Girsky.
In August 2023, a court in Moscow confirmed the sentence against the human rights defender. After that, Maxim disappeared in the Russian penal system for three months, and neither his relatives nor lawyers knew his whereabouts.
It turned out that he was transferred to colony No. 2 in the occupied Luhansk region in the city of Bokovo-Khrustalne (Vakhrusheve). Amnesty International calls Maksym Butkevich's sentence "revenge of the Russian authorities for his human rights activities", and the confession he made, according to them, was coerced.
