Russia sentences 2 Telegram channel administrators in occupied Melitopol to prison terms of up to 16 years
Two Ukrainian administrators of Melitopol Telegram channels were sentenced by Russian-controlled courts to prison terms of up to 16 years, according to press service reports on Sept. 3.
36-year-old Heorhiy Levchenko received 16 years in a maximum-security colony on charges of treason and extremism, while 27-year-old Vladyslav Gershon was sentenced to 15 years for espionage and charges to related to terrorism.
According to the court, Levchenko, administrator of Telegram channel Ria-Melitopol, organized a network of informants in 2023 and passed on details of Russian troop locations that were later targeted by Ukrainian strikes.
“Levchenko decided to use the Telegram channel for anti-Russian and pro-Ukrainian propaganda, as well as to share data on the locations of Russian Armed Forces units in Zaporizhzhia Oblast with the Ukrainian special services,” the ruling claimed.
The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don said Gershon, who administered the channel Melitopol tse Ukraina (“Melitopol is Ukraine”), must spend the first three years in prison before serving the rest of his term in a maximum-security penal colony. His case was heard behind closed doors due to the alleged presence of state secrets.
Levchenko’s arrest was first publicized by Russia’s FSB in October 2023, when state media aired footage portraying him as part of a supposed Ukrainian “agent network.”
Other Melitopol media figures detained in the same sweep face parallel trials in Rostov-on-Don on charges including espionage and terrorism, Reporters Without Borders said.
Some, such as 19-year-old Yana Suvorova, remain in pretrial detention, while others, like Mark Kaliusz, have been sent for compulsory psychiatric treatment.
Authorities in Moscow ramped up their crackdown on political opposition following the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Voicing discontent with Russia's war or Russian authorities can lead to heavy penalties.
Claims of "extremism" have been used to crack down on a wide range of organizations, news outlets, and social media platforms.
The southern city of Melitopol in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Oblast has been under Russian occupation since March 2022.
