RFE/RL journalists Andriy Dubchak and Vladyslav Yesypenko, who is jailed in Russia-annexed Crimea, have been named as part of a group of Ukrainian media members to win the prestigious Free Media Award 2022 for their coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Norway-based Fritt Ord Foundation said on August 19 that, in all, six Ukrainian photographers, journalists, and media outlets will be awarded the prize jointly "in recognition of their efforts to document the suffering and the challenges that Ukrainian people are facing due to the hostile destruction and war crimes committed by Russian troops."
The foundation called Yesypenko's incarceration "a striking example of the persecution of journalists who try to report from" Crimea, which was forcibly annexed by Russia in 2014. Weeks later, the Kremlin threw its support behind pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's east.
Yesypenko, a dual Russian-Ukrainian citizen who is a freelance contributor to RFE/RL's Crimea.Realities project, was sentenced in Crimea to six years in prison in February after a closed-door trial for allegedly collecting information for Ukrainian intelligence. Before the arrest, he had worked in Crimea for five years reporting on social and environmental issues on the peninsula.
WATCH: RFE/RL freelance correspondent Vladyslav Yesypenko made detailed allegations in court in September 2021 about being tortured while in custody.
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'My Brain Was Boiling': RFE/RL Freelancer Describes Agonizing Torture By Russian Jailers
Yesypenko testified during a court hearing that Russian authorities "want to discredit the work of freelance journalists who really want to show the things that really happen in Crimea."
In May, he was awarded the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award in the United States, which is given to honor writers who are political prisoners.
On August 18, a Russia-controlled court in Crimea shortened Yesypenko's prison term by one year.
Jamie Fly, president and CEO of RFE/RL, thanked the Fritt Ord Foundation and ZEIT-Stiftung for recognizing what he described as "the extraordinary courage Vlad has shown in his reporting from Russian-occupied Crimea."
"Until his detention, Vlad helped open the world’s eyes to the daily cruelty of life under occupation. He should be returned home to his family immediately," Fly said in a statement on August 19.
The Fritt Ord Foundation called Dubchak, a longtime correspondent of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, "one of the most important sources of information about life on the front lines in" Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
Others in the group of winners include AP photographer Mstyslav Chernov and Yevheniy Maloletka, who a freelance photojournalist for several outlets. Author Natalia Gumenyuk and the online newspaper Zaborona are also in the group.
On February 24, Moscow launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. In recent weeks, it has intensified its bombardment of areas in the east to tighten and expand its grip on areas where the separatists have a stronghold.
The Free Media Awards Press Prizes are earmarked for journalists from Eastern Europe and awarded through a collaborative program between the Fritt Ord Foundation of Norway and the ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius of Germany.
The awards ceremony will be held at the Norwegian Nobel Institute on October 17.