Ukrainians who are imprisoned due to fabricated cases by Russians are entitled to annual payments, inclusion of their imprisonment term into pensionable service, and financial assistance for lawyers.

How to exercise this right for hostages and their families was explained by the lawyer of the Association, Kateryna Levchenko, in an article for Suspilne Crimea.

On September 7, 2019, as part of the mutual release of detainees by Ukraine and the Russian Federation, 35 Kremlin hostages were successfully returned home. Among them was Yevhen Panov. He had been behind bars in Russia for over three years on fabricated charges. After the Russian Federation's invasion, Yevhen joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"When I was in prison, my biggest concern was for my family. If the state takes care of them, it will be easier for them to wait for the release that will definitely come," says Yevhen. Kateryna Levchenko explained that to receive assistance from the state, a relative must prove the fact of the detainee's deprivation of liberty as a result of aggression against Ukraine by contacting the Interdepartmental Commission at the Ministry of Reintegration. In case of a positive decision by the commission, for each year of captivity, the state pays 100,000 hryvnias to the detainee's relative. The political prisoner himself is entitled to a one-time payment of 100,000 hryvnias after release.

Former political prisoner Andrii Zakhtei was released from a Russian prison a year ago. Without money and documents — after seven years of imprisonment on fabricated charges — he made his way to Ukraine through Latvia. Before his return, Andrii's wife appealed to the Interdepartmental Commission to recognize her husband as a political prisoner. However, she received a refusal due to insufficient votes. Only after a repeated appeal did the Interdepartmental Commission finally recognize Andrii as a person deprived of liberty by the state authorities of the Russian Federation. He says he is still recovering from the consequences of his time in a Russian prison.

"I went to the psychological center in Pushcha-Vodytsia for a whole month. But for understanding — not through the state program, but through my friends who are volunteering, let's say, they arranged it," said Andrii Zakhtei.

Yevhen Panov shared that he was more fortunate with rehabilitation after his time in a Russian prison.

"We were in Feofaniia, in the parliamentary hospital, because our release was very high-profile in the media. We were lucky, but there are many people who, unfortunately, do not receive such attention," noted the former Kremlin captive.

However, Yevhen Panov received his extract from the Unified Register of Persons, regarding the fact of deprivation of personal liberty, only in February of this year. To obtain this document, it was necessary to apply to the court with legal support from the Association.

Lawyer Kateryna Levchenko pointed out that lately people have been waiting a long time for decisions from the Interdepartmental Commission because after the full-scale invasion, it considers cases of political prisoners, prisoners of war, and civilians, which amount to thousands of applications.

"The Commission is so overloaded that it takes several months to make decisions on establishing or not confirming the fact. After submitting an application, people may not know for three to four months whether their application has been accepted or considered at all. Sometimes applications get lost. Not everyone who has been unlawfully imprisoned can or is ready to go through this bureaucratic process," emphasized Levchenko.

According to the lawyer, the families of political prisoners also have the right to compensation from the state for the costs of lawyers — 53,000 hryvnias per year.

"Sometimes the only way to communicate with a loved one who is in prison is through a Russian lawyer. They are very expensive, so 53,000 annually is very little. And first, you need to find a good lawyer somewhere, spend a lot of money, and then hope that the state will compensate for them in the future," said Ms. Kateryna.