Mykola Karpyuk

Mykola Karpyuk (Ukrainian: Микола Андронович Карпюк, Mykola Andronovych Karpyuk) is a Ukrainian political activist and former vice leader of the UNA-UNSO as well as a member of the central council of the Right Sector.[2] In May 2016, Karpyuk was accused of participating in the First Chechen War and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison. Russian civil rights society Memorial recognized him as a political prisoner.[3]

Mykola Andronovych Karpyuk
Born (1964-05-21) May 21, 1964[1]
Velyky Zhytyn, Rivne Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union[1]
OccupationPolitical activist
Children[1]

Biography

Karpyuk was the chairman of the Rivne cell of the Ukrainian National Assembly. In 1992-1993, he participated in the Transnistrian conflict on the side of Transnistria and in the War in Abkhazia 1993 he fought on the side of Georgia. He took part in the Ukrainian parliamentary elections of 1998 and 2002 for UNA-UNSO, but the party did not go to the Verkhovna Rada both times.[4]

In 2001-2002, there was a split within the UNA-UNSO. At the congress in November 2001, Mykola Karpyuk was elected as the new chairman of the UNA-UNSO.[5] In 2000-2001, he took part in the action “Ukraine without Kuchma”, because of which he was arrested and sentenced to 4.5 years in prison.[6] In 2004 he was released from prison. During the Euromaidan Karpyuk joined the organization Right Sector and became a leading figure within the organization.[7]

Arrest and detention

Karpyuk was kidnapped on the Russian-Ukrainian border in 2014 and arrested, according to his family.[8] After his arrest, Mykola Karpyuk, along with another Ukrainian detainee in Russia, Stanislav Klykh, was charged with participation in hostilities during the First Chechen War on the side of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, attempted murder, and killings of servicemen of the armed forces of Russia in 1994-1995. The charges were based on the testimony of Alexander Malofeev, who was sentenced to 24.5 years of imprisonment, who allegedly was a member of the Viking detachment. Klykh and Karpyuk themselves denied visiting Chechnya.[9]

Amnesty International has called the trial against Karpyuk and Klykh unfair.[10] Karpuk and Klykh were denied access to lawyers, and alleged that they were tortured while imprisoned.[11] In 2018, Lyudmyla Denisova, the Commissioner for Human Rights in Ukraine, was denied visiting access to Karpyuk and fellow political prisoner Oleg Sentsov.[12]

Released with swap

Mykola Karpyuk was released with swap between Russia and Ukraine, 35 prisoners to 35, on September 7, 2019.[13] When plane with 35 freed Ukrainians landed in Kyiv, they were met by president Volodymyr Zelensky and relatives.[14]

References
  1. УКРАИНСКИЕ ЗАЛОЖНИКИ ПУТИНА ПОИМЕННО
  2. Микола Карпюк (in Ukrainian)
  3. ""Мемориал" считает граждан Украины Николая Карпюка и Станислава Клыха политзаключенными". Мемориал. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  4. "Карпюк Микола Андронович". Центральна виборча комісія України. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  5. "В Украине будет две УНА-УНСО". Korrespondent. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  6. "ЕСПЧ обязал Украину выплатить 11 тыс. евро Карпюку и еще двум членам УНА-УНСО". РБК-Украина. 6 October 2015.
  7. "Кто и для чего звал лидеров Правого сектора в Москву – Инсайдер, 02.03.2017". Телеканал ICTV. 2 March 2017. (Minute 4:16)
  8. Romanyshyn, Yuliana (21 May 2016). "Chechnya court finds Ukrainians Karpyuk and Klykh guilty of murder". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  9. Святослав Хоменко (19 May 2016). "Обвинувачені у Чечні Карпюк і Клих: що далі?". BBC Україна. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  10. URGENT ACTION
  11. "Amnesty Condemns Russia's Decision on Imprisoned Ukrainians". The Moscow Times. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  12. Coynash, Halya (18 June 2018). "Russia refuses access to Ukrainian political prisoners Oleg Sentsov & Mykola Karpyuk". Kharkhiv Human Rights Protection Group. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  13. "Finally Russia and Ukraine complete a highly anticipated prisoner exchange". Meduza. September 7, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  14. "Обмін відбувся: утримувані Росією політв'язні повернулися в Україну". Hromadske (in Ukrainian). September 7, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
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