Volodymyr Balukh

A Ukrainian civic activist and farmer who, after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, remained a citizen of Ukraine, refusing Russian citizenship.

On December 8, 2016, Ukrainian activist Volodymyr Balukh was detained by the Russian FSB in occupied Crimea. After the annexation of the peninsula, Balukh hung a Ukrainian flag on his house in the village of Serebrianka and a sign reading "Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred Street".

The occupation authorities of Crimea accused Balukh of possessing ammunition and explosives, which were allegedly found during one of the searches. The man repeatedly insisted that the ammunition had been planted on him in revenge for his pro-Ukrainian position. On January 16, 2018, Balukh was sentenced to 3 years and 7 months in a penal colony-settlement. On March 19, 2018, the political prisoner declared an indefinite hunger strike.

On July 5, the illegal "Rozdolne District Court" of occupied Crimea found Balukh guilty of allegedly beating the head of a temporary detention facility. Balukh was thus sentenced to 5 years in prison and a fine of 10,000 roubles.

Since the start of his hunger strike, Volodymyr Balukh has lost more than 30 kilograms.