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Acclaimed Ukrainian human rights activist Maksym Butkevych released by Russia

Acclaimed Ukrainian human rights activist Maksym Butkevych released by Russia

The release was part of a prisoner exchange involving 190 fighters from both sides

~ Sean Patterson ~

As reported by the Kyiv Independent, on October 18, Ukraine and Russia concluded a 190-person prisoner exchange. Among the 95 Ukrainian prisoners of war released from Russian captivity was Maksym Butkevych, a prolific Ukrainian journalist and human rights activist.

As a student in the 1990s at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Butkevych was a well-known anarchist, anti-fascist, and member of the student trade union Direct Action. For his Masters in anthropology, he studied at the University of Sussex before pursuing a career in journalism, which led to a brief stint in 2003 at BBC World Service’s Ukrainian section.

Throughout the 2000s, Butkevych committed himself to various anti-war, anti-globalisation, and anti-fascist projects and protests. In 2006, while covering the G8 summit in St. Petersburg as a journalist, he was illegally arrested by the Russian authorities. His subsequent victory at the European Court of Human Rights was hailed as a milestone in the protection of the freedom of the press.    

Prior to the war, Butkevych was highly regarded for his work advocating for the rights of immigrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons in Ukraine. He was the coordinator of the No Borders Project, a co-founder of the ZMINA Human Rights Center and Hromadske Radio, and an employee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ukraine. Throughout his decades of activism, he remained committed to an anti-colonial approach to immigration, underlined by the motto “No one is illegal.”

Despite being a lifelong internationalist and antimilitarist, Butkevych felt compelled to actively resist Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In March 2022, he volunteered for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, writing in a Facebook post, “Unfortunately, I have to put my humanitarian activities to help refugees on hold. There are times when you have to be ready to defend what is important – I firmly believe in that. And the rest can be after victory.”      

In June 2022, Butkevych was captured by the Russians in the eastern Ukrainian Luhansk Oblast. Russian media castigated him as a “British spy” and a “Nazi.” Russian authorities subsequently staged a show trial, sentencing Butkevych to 13 years in prison for alleged “war crimes against civilians.” According to Butkevych, he was initially forced to confess to the fabricated charges under torture before retracting his confession at trial.

In prison, Butkevych corresponded with Russian activist Elena Kondrakhina. He described his daily routine of tending the prison gardens, reading, and writing. Butkevych even achieved a sense of peace in a manner, describing himself “like a snail absorbing tranquillity, slowly, concentratedly and selflessly.”

Butkevych also offered an insightful reflection on the evolution of his personal beliefs in relation to his “black sheep” status as both a Christian and an anarchist:

“I didn’t call myself an “anarchist” for quite some time, even when collaborating with anarchists; but then, comparing that basic set of ideas, that view of man and society, which is called anarchist, with my views and convictions, I simply recognised the fact of coincidence. If there is any body that codifies “proper” anarchism, and it recognises me as a non-anarchist, I will not be upset, to be honest. The main thing is the content and not the designation, which is only a working tool”.

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