The Mykolaiv Court of Appeal has responded to the worldwide campaign demanding the freedom of Bogdan Syrotiuk with a measure of cynical chauvinism. In reply to scores of letters from historians, artists, legal scholars, workers and students calling for the reversal of his conviction, the court has been sending an emailed statement declaring that “office work in the court is conducted in the state language” and that letters—which it designates “applications”—should be written “in the language provided for by court office work, namely Ukrainian.”

The court’s demand is aimed at the international campaign that has erupted since August 10, when the Pervomaisk City District Court, in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region sentenced Syrotiuk, the 27-year-old founder and leader of the Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists, to 15 years in prison for “high treason … under martial law.” A petition posted on the World Socialist Web Site has been signed by thousands. Letters of protest have poured in from more than 30 countries. The inflow has reached a volume sufficient to force a response from the court, after the option of simply ignoring the protests was rejected. The demand that all letters be submitted in Ukrainian is an attempt to discourage and suppress public expressions of support for Bogdan.

The origins of the provision invoked by the court are thoroughly reactionary. The Law on Ensuring the Functioning of Ukrainian as the State Language, adopted on April 25, 2019, was a blatant act of discrimination against a large portion of Ukraine’s population—estimated at between one-third and one-half—whose principal language is Russian.

Pervomaisk, where Bogdan was arrested and tried, and Mykolaiv, where he has been held in prison since April 2024, are Russian-speaking cities of southern Ukraine. The court that is demanding the world write to it in Ukrainian operates in a region where a large part of the population has had its own language stripped of official standing. The same national chauvinism that deprives Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine of their democratic rights is now being directed against the international campaign for Bogdan’s freedom.

The legal pretext is fraudulent. The language restriction invoked by the court pertains to procedural documents filed by participants in proceedings, including pleadings, motions and evidence. Letters protesting a verdict, sent from abroad, are not procedural filings. There is no law that requires them to be written in any particular national language. The court has chosen to classify the letters as “applications” and thereby subject them to the administrative language restriction, purely as a deflection tactic.

The cynicism is transparent. The court is entirely capable of understanding the import of any letter, in whatever language it is written, that contains the name “Bogdan Syrotiuk.” When dealing with its NATO masters, Zelensky and his henchmen prove remarkably fluent in whatever language is required to solicit money and weapons. The same state whose president pleads before foreign parliaments in their own languages instructs foreign workers and academics that their protest over a political prisoner must be submitted in Ukrainian.

The attempt to suppress the campaign will fail. Workers, youth, principled scholars and all those committed to the defense of democratic rights will take little note of the court’s fiat. As the facts of the case become more widely known, outrage against the verdict will grow. The number of signatures will grow. More individuals and organizations will speak out in defense of Bogdan, and the letters will continue to pour in.

Outrage against the verdict rests on irrefutable facts, outlined in the petition demanding Bogdan’s freedom:

The conviction rests entirely on protected political expression. The sole evidence presented against Syrotiuk consisted of six articles published on the World Socialist Web Site and his communications with the editors, who published them. No act other than writing and publishing was alleged or proven. To convict a citizen of treason for writing for a socialist publication is to criminalize political speech itself, in violation of Article 34 of the Constitution of Ukraine and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Ukraine is a signatory.

The central allegation of the prosecution was never substantiated. When Syrotiuk was arrested by the SBU on April 25, 2024, the state claimed he was an agent of the Russian government. In more than two years of detention and proceedings, no evidence of any kind was produced to support that allegation.

The evidence cited in the verdict contradicts the charge. The articles on which the conviction rests make explicit Syrotiuk’s opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and to the Putin regime.

The court failed to answer the expert evidence before it. A 65-page report by Yuri Irkhin, one of Ukraine’s leading criminologists, examined Syrotiuk’s writings and found in them no “statements, phrases, sentences, or word combinations that have signs of propaganda aimed at supporting” the Putin government. The trial court never answered the report. It ordered a third examination instead. A verdict that ignores exculpatory expert findings cannot stand.

The ancillary orders confirm the political character of the prosecution. In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered the confiscation of Syrotiuk’s property and the destruction of the program, brochures and leaflets of the Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists. The ordered destruction of political literature is the act of a state punishing ideas, not prosecuting crimes.

The conviction was handed down under conditions incompatible with a fair trial. It was issued under martial law, in a country where elections have been suspended. Since the “decommunization” laws of 2015, communist parties and symbols have been banned; in 2022, the Zelensky government suspended 11 opposition parties, including the largest opposition party in parliament. The European Court of Human Rights accepted Syrotiuk’s case in 2025. The proceedings against him constitute political persecution, in violation of Articles 6, 7 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The sentence places Syrotiuk’s life in immediate danger. His health was poor at the time of his arrest. He was denied urgently needed medical treatment for more than two years; treatment began only recently. In a penitentiary system whose overcrowding, denial of medical care and rising deaths in custody have been documented by the United Nations and the Council of Europe, a 15-year sentence is the equivalent of a death sentence.

The significance of the fight for Bogdan’s freedom extends beyond the fate of a single individual. He has been condemned to 15 years in prison for opposing the fratricidal war that is escalating rapidly into a catastrophic military conflict threatening to engulf all of Europe and the world.

The fight for Bogdan’s freedom must be expanded. The number of petition signatories must grow by the thousands. Individuals and organizations should send letters to the Court of Appeal demanding that the verdict be overturned and that Bogdan be released immediately.

The letters of protest should be written in whatever language their authors choose. Those who have access to translation programs may, if they so decide, transpose their letters into Ukrainian. But whatever the language, the message is the same:

Free Bogdan Syrotiuk! For the unity of the Ukrainian, Russian and international working class against fascism and war!

Свободу Богдану Сиротюку! За єдність українського, російського та міжнародного робітничого класу проти фашизму і війни!

Свободу Богдану Сиротюку! За единство украинского, российского и международного рабочего класса против фашизма и войны!

Libérez Bogdan Syrotiouk ! Pour l’unité de la classe ouvrière ukrainienne, russe et internationale contre le fascisme et la guerre!

Freiheit für Bogdan Syrotjuk! Für die Einheit der ukrainischen, russischen und internationalen Arbeiterklasse gegen Faschismus und Krieg!

¡Libertad para Bogdan Syrotiuk! ¡Por la unidad de la clase obrera ucraniana, rusa e internacional contra el fascismo y la guerra!

Libertà per Bogdan Syrotiuk! Per l’unità della classe operaia ucraina, russa e internazionale contro il fascismo e la guerra!

Bogdan Syrotiuk’a özgürlük! Ukraynalı, Rus ve uluslararası işçi sınıfının faşizme ve savaşa karşı birliği için!

Liberdade para Bogdan Syrotiuk! Pela unidade da classe trabalhadora ucraniana, russa e internacional contra o fascismo e a guerra!

බොග්දාන් සිරොටියුක්ට නිදහස! ෆැසිස්ට්වාදයට හා යුද්ධයට එරෙහිව උක්‍රේන, රුසියානු සහ ජාත්‍යන්තර කම්කරු පන්තියේ එක්සත්භාවය වෙනුවෙන්!

போக்தான் சிரோட்யுக்கை விடுதலை செய்! பாசிசத்திற்கும் போருக்கும் எதிராக உக்ரேனிய, ரஷ்ய மற்றும் அனைத்துலகத் தொழிலாள வர்க்கத்தின் ஒற்றுமைக்காக!

释放博格丹·瑟罗秋克！为乌克兰、俄罗斯和国际工人阶级反对法西斯主义与战争的团结而斗争！

الحرية لبوغدان سيروتيوك! من أجل وحدة الطبقة العاملة الأوكرانية والروسية والعالمية ضد الفاشية والحرب!

ボグダン・シロチュクを釈放せよ！ファシズムと戦争に反対するウクライナ、ロシア、そして国際労働者階級の団結のために！

آزادی برای بوگدان سیروتیوک! برای اتحاد طبقه کارگر اوکراین، روسیه و جهان علیه فاشیسم و جنگ!

Vrijheid voor Bogdan Syrotjoek! Voor de eenheid van de Oekraïense, Russische en internationale arbeidersklasse tegen fascisme en oorlog!