Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Gordon unjustly sentenced to 14 years in Russian prison
Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Gordon — whose YouTube news channel targeting Russian speakers is available from Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s Svoboda satellite package, which brings reliable news to populations barraged by propaganda and censorship — has been sentenced to 14 years in prison in Russia. RSF condemns this arbitrary conviction, which seeks to intimidate journalists publishing independent information on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On 1 July, a Russian military court convicted Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Gordon of “calls to terrorism,” broadcasting falsehoods about the Russian army, motivated by political hatred" and "incitement to hatred with threats of violence." Gordon was sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison. Founder of the Gordonua.com news website as well as two YouTube channels – one of which is eponymous and the other called "Visiting Gordon" – that have a combined total of seven million subscribers, he’s been targeted by Russia since March 2022, when he released a video titled “Take Putin and Lukashenko down — Ukraine has already won!”. The video called on Russians to protest the invasion of Ukraine that took place on 24 February 2022.
Gordon was also on the July 2022 list of wanted persons in Russia, and Russia’s September 2022 list of foreign agents.
"Vladimir Putin continues to attack the independent voices covering the consequences of his invasion of Ukraine. The Russian-language content published by Dmytro Gordon, notably on RSF's Svoboda satellite bouquet, clearly threatens the Kremlin's war narrative. RSF condemns the legal farce that led to his conviction, and supports the dissemination of independent information on its Svoboda satellite.
Gordon’s YouTube content can be found on RSF’s Svoboda satellite package, officially launched on 5 March 2024, which broadcasts independent news to the Russian-speaking populations in the Russian Federation, the occupied territories of Ukraine, Belarus, and all of Europe.
