Militants “convicted” historian Kozlovskyy to imprisonment for more than two years

Militants of the illegal armed group (IAG) of Donetsk region deprived historian Ihor Kozlovskyy of his freedom.

His son Oleksandr Kozlovskyy reported about the decision of the “military tribunal” on his Facebook page.

“Today, the Military Tribunal of the “DPR” issued a guilty verdict in the case of Ihor Kozlovskyy: 2 years and 8 months of imprisonment. Neither the age of Ihor Kozlovskyy or the fact that he has a disabled son in his care were not enough to serve as mitigating circumstances for the court”, – he wrote.

“The so-called court its position with the fact that Ihor Kozlovskyy is a particularly unreliable citizen, as he had contacts with a number of organizations banned in the “DPR”, in particular, with members of the Svoboda (Freedom) Political Party in 2014”, – he said.

In his message he noted that he hopes only for broad public support and effective actions on the part of Ukrainian authorities and international organizations in the process of releasing Ihor Kozlovskyy.

“On behalf of our whole family, I want to thank all those who responded and joined the #FreeKozlovskyy campaign and disseminated information about our situation as much as possible. Only by joint efforts we will be able to achieve the long-awaited release of a person dear to us”, – said Oleksandr Kozlovskyy.

As a reminder, Ihor Kozlovskyy, the religious scholar, president of the Center for Religious Science Research and International Spiritual Relations, was arrested in Donetsk in January 2016. The militants claimed that he could “destabilize the situation” in the territory of several occupied regions of the Donetsk region. He was accused of illegally purchasing and storing two grenades. Denis Kozlovskyy calls the accusations ridiculous, because Ihor’s half-incapacitated son Svyatoslav, who suffers from Down’s syndrome, has always been in the same room.

The relatives claim that he has never criticized the publicly self-proclaimed illegal armed group and shared only philosophical quotes and neutral photos on his page in the social network.

After the conflict began in eastern Ukraine, a 62-year-old man stayed in Donetsk to look after his son with Down syndrome.

Earlier, the candidate of historical sciences Ihor Kozlovskyy managed the Department of Religious Affairs of Donetsk Regional State Administration. He taught at the Department of Philosophy of Donetsk National Technical University.

He wrote more than 50 scientific publications, participated in international conferences and meetings, including with Pope John Paul II, ROC Chairman Alexis II, Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew II.

According to Iryna Herashchenko, Commissioner of the President for Peaceful Settlement of the Situation in Donetsk and Luhansk Regions, Ihor Kozlovskyy is on the list of hostages provided by the Ukrainian side. However, he is not among the detainees on the lists of ORDLO (Certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions). Representatives of the ORDLO answered that Ihor Kozlovskyy is “a resident of Donetsk and he can not be on these lists”, – as stated by BBC Ukraine.

According to Iryna Herashchenko, Russia uses hostages as a trump card for blackmailing Ukraine.

According to the study “Surviving Hell”, pro-Russian militants tortured and brutally treated 86% of Ukrainian servicemen. Every second citizen suffered from such treatment.