Moscow court upholds Ukrainian human rights activist Butkevich's prison term

This was reported by the Graty media outlet.

It is noted that the human rights activist joined the Ukrainian army in the first days of the invasion and was taken prisoner in June 2022. Butkevych is accused of "violations of the rules of war", the occupation authorities claim that on 4 June 2022, he fired a grenade launcher into the entrance of a residential building in Severodonetsk.

At the same time, according to information received by the media, Butkevych was not in the city until 14 June. He was forced to plead guilty and recant his alibi during the appeal.

The court took into account the time spent by the human rights activist in the Luhansk pre-trial detention centre since 19 August 2022 as part of his 13-year sentence.

"I would like to express my gratitude to all those people who care about my fate and all Ukrainian prisoners of war who are now in a difficult situation. People who are either prisoners of war or already convicted are also constantly thinking not only about their relatives and friends, but also about everyone who is still at large, who is in Ukraine, and everyone hopes that the prisoners of war will be released," Butkevich said in his last word in court.

Reference. Maksym Butkevych is a Ukrainian human rights activist, journalist, public figure, serviceman, and one of the co-founders of Hromadske Radio. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, served in the 210th Special Detached Battalion "Berlingo", and took part in the liberation of the Kyiv region.