Mykola Semena

A journalist cooperating with Radio Svoboda and the Krym.Reali website. Unlike many other journalists, he did not leave the Peninsula after the annexation of Crimea. In the spring of 2016, the FSB conducted a search at his home. He was accused, like Ilmi Umerov, of “the violation of the territorial integrity of Russia.” The reason for the accusation was an article published under the pseudonym 2015 in the Krym.Reali website. The article was entitled “A blockade - a necessary first step to liberating Crimea”. (https://ru.krymr.com/a/27240750.html). The journalist described the ongoing discussion about the economic blockade of Crimea and its legitimacy. Probably the Russian services have set up a spyware on his computer because the screenshots were used as evidence in the case. The journalist argued that while writing the material he used the right to express his opinion freely. However, the Russian court in Crimea had different opinion. It sentenced Semena to imprisonment for two and a half years and banned him on performing public activities for three years.