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On May 5–6, an additional OSCE meeting on human dimension issues titled “Protecting Civil Space: The Role of Human Rights Defenders and Freedom of Peaceful Assembly” took place in Vienna.

“I want to tell you about a woman who was my peer. We grew up in the same city, Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern Ukraine. Part of this region is occupied by russia…” – this is how Anzhelika Bielova, President of the NGO Voice of Romni, began her speech at the OSCE session dedicated to the challenges faced by human rights defenders in the context of war at home, in exile, and abroad. Her address was dedicated to Ukrainian journalist Viktoriya Roschyna – a woman who gave her life for the truth.

‘Viktoriya was captured by russian troops in August 2023 while investigating the involvement of the FSB in the abduction of Ukrainians in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region. According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, numerous signs of torture were found on her: a broken rib, abrasions, various internal hemorrhages, and possible marks from the use of electricity on her feet. Before her body was sent back to Ukraine, her eyeballs, brain, and part of her trachea were removed. Her hyoid bone was broken. Forensic experts say that the removal of the trachea may be evidence that Viktoriya was strangled.’

Anzhelika presented these horrific facts from official sources regarding the murder of Viktoriya Roschyna, and also read an excerpt from an open letter by Ukrainian journalists to the OSCE:

“We call on the OSCE to employ its human rights monitoring tools for an urgent investigation into the conditions of detention of Ukrainian journalists on the territory of the russian federation. We urge the OSCE to appoint a special mission led by the Representative on Freedom of the Media to verify facts related to the unlawful detentions, killings, and persecution of Ukrainian journalists by russia.”

As of December 2024, according to Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians are being held in russian captivity — these include journalists, local government representatives, clergy, and international officials.

The international community must use all available means to secure the release of the captives. Every day of delay is a lost life. Our organization’s participation in such a high-level international event is a recognition of our work and a principled position: we stand shoulder to shoulder with all those fighting for freedom, democracy, and justice in Ukraine, loudly denouncing russia’s crimes and demanding accountability.

The meeting organized by the OSCE was also dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Accords and aimed to strengthen the commitments of participating states to the protection of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. For Ukraine, which has been enduring full-scale war for over three years, these principles are of critical importance: they form the basis of resistance to authoritarian aggression, provide support to civil society that continues to operate despite all dangers, and are the key to a future just peace built on the rights and dignity of every individual.

Our duty, as Ukrainians of diverse backgrounds, citizens of a multicultural country that has been fighting for its democratic values for 11 years, is to tell and remind the world of the heroism of those who gave their lives for freedom, like Viktoriya Roschyna.