Stanislav Aseyev
Stanislav Volodymyrovych Aseyev (, also Stanyslav Asieiev, Stanislav Vasin ; born October 1, 1989) is a Ukrainian writer and journalist. His best known work is the novel "The Melchior Elephant" (2016). In May 2014 his native city of Donetsk fell under control of pro-Russian militants and he remained there. During the period of 2015–2017 Aseyev was publishing his reports (writing under the pen name Stanislav Vasin) for Mirror Weekly newspaper and other Ukrainian media, before 2 June 2017, when he disappeared. On 16 July, an agent of the DNR's “Ministry of State Security” confirmed that he was kidnapped  by militants from so-called "Donetsk People's Republic". Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalists, the European Federation of Journalists, Human Rights Watch, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, PEN International, Reporters Without Borders and the United States Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have called for his immediate release. The US Senators Bob Menendez and Marco Rubio have also voiced their support for Aseyev. Despite huge international support Aseyev was sentenced for 15 years and spent 962 days in Izolyatsia prison. He was released as part of a  prison exchange and handed over to Ukrainian authorities on 29 December 2019. Biography. Aseyev born in Donetsk in 1989. In 2006 he graduated from secondary school in the town of Makiivka and started courses in "Institute of Informatics and Artificial Intelligence" of Donetsk National Technical University. There he earned a Masters of Religious Studies with Honors in 2012. His philosophical interests include 20th-century French and German ontology. According to a biography published in Yunost magazine, after attending university Aseyev travelled to Paris, where he applied for service in the French Foreign Legion, then came back to Ukraine and tried  many professions such as a loader, intern at the bank, grave digger, operator in a mailing company, and shop assistant. Life in occupied Donetsk and disappearing. Aseyev has stayed in Donetsk since it was captured by pro-Russian militants in 2014. He described the war in Donbass and his life under occupation in his novel and journalistic reports. His last report was for RFE/RL's project Donbass Realities, sent on June 2, 2017 (disputable if it was really written by him or, maybe, under pressure of kidnappers). His Facebook page was active for a while but probably managed by  another person. Aseyev's mother (living in Makiivka near Donetsk) visited his apartment and witnessed traces of illegal enter and search there. His fellow student and former MP Yehor Firsov reported Aseyev's disappearance on June 6 blaming Russia-backed militants of kidnapping. Later this fact was commented by Security Service of Ukraine, UN Monitoring Mission on Human Rights to Ukraine, Ukraine Journalists Union. On July 16, 2017 an agent of the DNR's “Ministry of State Security” confirmed to Aseyev's mother that her son was in their custody and that he is suspected of "espionage". Independent media is  not allowed to report from the "DNR"-controlled territory. In July 2018, Aseyev reportedly began a hunger strike while being imprisoned. In October 2019 the Supreme Court of the DPR found Aseyev guilty in charges of organizing an extremist community, espionage and incitement to espionage, and public actions aimed at violating territorial integrity, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. #FreeAseyev an international campaign for journalist's release supported by authorities, professional communities and human rights activists was active since 2017 to 2019. Last events of the campaign were held few weeks before his release, November 15, 2019. People gathered  on "Empty chair day" in Kyiv, Lviv, Kramatorsk, New York, Rome and London. Stas Aseyev and his less-known colleague Oleh Halaziuk were released (as part of a controversial prison exchange between the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic and Ukraine) and handed over to Ukrainian authorities on 29 December 2019. Literature. The main Aseyev's work in prose is an autobiographical novel "The Melchior Elephant or A man who thought". It was published for the first time in Moscow in Yunost magazine (#1 — #6, 2015) and in the next year it came out in hardback in  publishing house Kayala () in Kyiv. According to Yunost's editor Yevgeniy Malevich: «his perspective is not a journalist-like, nor a writer-like but he's the young philosopher. In his novel Stanislav turns himself inside out, showing the world of a small town and the war that tore the country in half». Journalism. Aseyev used the pseudonym Stanislav Vasin to report from territories occupied by the Russian military and pro-Russian militants. The reason was widespread persecutions by the so-called "Ministry of State Security" and different militants’ groups of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic". Aseyev's  position wasn't clearly pro-Ukrainian (he was often accused by commentators of "a lack of patriotism" or "immaturity of political views"). His reports exposing crimes in the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" consisted of reports of war crimes of the Republic's militants, Russian activities in Donbass, and pro-Ukrainian resistance. In 2015 his reports was published by Ukrayinska Pravda. Between 2016 and 2017 he was a correspondent of Mirror Weekly, a notable Ukrainian newspaper where he published 14 articles. Also in 2016 — 2017 he create about 50 articles and photo-reports for US government outlet Radio Liberty . Political activity. After his release, Aseyev took an active social and political position, dealing with the rights of captives of illegal prisons in Russia and on occupied territories. On January 29, 2020, Aseyev delivered a speech at the Council of Europe in which he asked the member states to put pressure on Russia to release the captives. On February 15, 2020, the journalist spoke at the Munich Security Conference, where he spoke about the inhumane treatment of captives by militants. On February 14, 2020, Aseyev met with a group of US senators at Radio Liberty's Prague office to discuss  the release of the remaining captives in the occupied territories of Donetsk region.