On September 17, 2014, Valentyn went to the Crimea for one day. As his family later learned, Valentyn had gone to meet his acquaintance who needed financial assistance for her grandfather's medical treatment there, and Valentyn took the money that was collected for her. The next day, all connections with Valentyn promptly ceased.
“He just disappeared. What happened? Where did it happen? Where was he taken? Now we`ve got evidence that it was a specially organized operation to lure in Valentyn and arrest him,” said the father of the political prisoner.
He was initially charged with “commercial espionage” which was later reclassified as “espionage”. The case was classified as “Top Secret”.
In December 2015, the Moscow Regional Court sentenced him to 11 years in a maximum security prison. Valentyn was accused of “economic and military espionage in Russia's aerospace industry.”
“He said that he had been transported from Simferopol to Moscow. On the plane, he was beaten by FSB officers. They beat him in turn, two people at a time, then changed places to let the next two continue the beating,” says his father.
Petro Vyhivskyi says that his son's health deteriorated significantly in prison: he had developed problems with his teeth, eyesight and legs.
Valentyn Vyhivskyi is currently on the prisoner exchange list. “But the result so far is that the exchange took place a year ago, and Valentyn was not on the list of prisoners to be swapped and has not returned home yet,” says Petro Vyhivskyi.
“No one knows when his child may end up in a situation like our children are experiencing. Citizens currently unaffected by this problem must do something to prevent this from ever happening to their children. This includes signing petitions, participating in events and strikes, and so on. Those who want to protect their children must join in protecting others. This is the only way to protect yourself and your family,” says Petro Vyhivskyi.
