In March, the prisoner’s wife, Oksana, applied to the Interdepartmental Commission to recognize her husband as a person deprived of liberty by the russian state authorities. However, she received refusal with the reason given – not enough votes. Zakhtei was recognized as a political prisoner for 5 years in a row, until on February 10, Andrii fully served his sentence of 6.5 years.

‍“At the meeting of the Commission held on April 18, we received a positive decision on the application. I found out about this today, May 9, when I myself called the Ministry of Reintegration. To the previous set of documents, our lawyer added two resolutions of the European Parliament, which demanded that the russian authorities immediately release all political prisoners, including Andrii. Perhaps these resolutions influenced the decision, but it seems to me that to a greater extent the Interdepartmental Commission was pushed by public pressure after the previous refusal. Our situation seemed absurd to the prisoner’ relatives and human rights activists and caused a public outcry,” the wife, Oksana Zakhtei, commented to the Association.

Earlier, on March 8, the State Migration Service of Ukraine refused to issue documents for Andrii Zakhtei to return to Ukraine. As there are no consular relations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, the return of the political prisoner is possible only through third countries. The prisoner’s wife, Oksana, together with her lawyer, appealed to Latviia, which had previously agreed to allow Zakhtei's departure. Now they are waiting for a written confirmation from Latvia for Andrii’s return home.

On February 10, 2023, immediately after termination of his sentence, Zakhtei was transported under convoy to the FKU “TsVSIG ‘Don’” in Rostov region where, by court order, he is being kept now, and will be kept until May 12.

‍“Andriy can use phone, but connection is terrible. Every 2 minutes, conversation is interrupted and calls are made again. How is Andrii? My husband had been in a strict regime colony for almost 7 years, hoping to return, but he has been in uncertainty for three months now. Therefore, his psychological state is terrible. Our little daughter asks every day when Dad will return home - she really wants to finally meet him in person,” Oksana tells the Association.

Another political prisoner, Mykola Shyptur, who has also fully served his sentence but has not returned home yet, is being held in “Don” together with Zakhtei. Mykola will remain there by court order until June 6.As a reminder, Andrii Zakhtei was arrested by russian “law enforcement” agencies on the night of August 6-7, 2016 near the village of Suvorovo, Crimea. Russia accused him of “sabotage activities in favor of Ukraine” and sentenced him to 6.5 years in prison. Zachtei served his sentence in an institution on the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, therefore, during his entire stay in the colony, the Ukrainian consul could not reach him.