One year after the arrest of Ukrainian Trotskyist Bogdan Syrotiuk, Left Voice, which is affiliated with La Izquierda Diario Network, has issued a statement calling for his release. Bogdan, then aged 25, was arrested by the Ukrainian Secret Service (SBU) on April 25, 2024, and indicted for “state treason.” The charge carries between 15 years and life in prison.
Since then, Bogdan has been held in an overcrowded prison in Nikolaev, together with imprisoned youth and factory workers from the area. The principal evidence leveled against him are articles he wrote or translated for the World Socialist Web Site.
Titled, “Release Bogdan Syrotiuk, Socialist Imprisoned for Opposing War in Ukraine,” Left Voice’s statement declares:
Leftists who claim the mantle of internationalism must speak out against the reactionary nationalism that the Russian and Ukrainian regimes are using to crack down on dissent. Ukrainian socialist Bogdan Syrotiuk has been imprisoned for a year now for criticizing the proxy-war in Ukraine. He must be released immediately!
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While we at Left Voice have important political differences with WSWS, we unequivocally oppose the Ukrainian regime’s attacks on opponents of the proxy-war which offers nothing for the Ukrainian working class….
With growing trends towards great power conflict, war, and all the worst crimes of imperialism, leftists must stand in solidarity in defense of the right to advocate for anti-imperialist ideas, class solidarity across borders, and opposition to all wars in which the capitalists use our class as cannon fodder for their profits. For this reason we demand the immediate release of Bogdan Syrotiuk and an end to the repression of all left-wing movements in Ukraine and Russia.
Left Voice is politically identified with Morenoite tendencies in Argentina and throughout Latin America and Europe. However, neither the Spanish-language websites nor the websites affiliated with groups in Europe have issued statements calling for Bogdan’s release from prison. Left Voice should demand that its comrades internationally immediately issue statements in support of Bogdan Syrotiuk.
Prominent individuals, publications and organizations throughout the world have declared their support for the campaign to free Bogdan Syrotiuk.
These include Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, the Ukrainian socialist Maxim Goldarb; German historians Mario Kessler and Christian Gerlach; Rabkor.Ru and several other organizations in Russia, the Militant group in Ukraine, Jill Stein from the US Green Party, journalists Katie Halper and Matt Taibbi as well as Mint Press in the US; the Socialist Laborer Party in Turkey, and the Partisan Defense Committee, which is affiliated with the Spartacist tendency.
This campaign has been critical in weakening the position of the state prosecution in court. It is by no means unusual for youth and workers to be arrested and disappeared in Ukraine—there were an estimated 55,000 people languishing in Ukrainian prisons for alleged “collaboration” with Russia as of March 2024.
However, the prosecution has visibly struggled to prove its case in court. This is despite the fact that, so far, the court has rubber-stamped every request by the SBU to extend Bogdan’s detention and the confiscation of “evidence.” Most recently, the detention of Bogdan was extended by another 60 days.
The World Socialist Web Site therefore reiterates its call upon all organizations and individuals who claim to defend democratic rights and be left wing to join the fight to free Bogdan Syrotiuk. It is an essential component of the fight against imperialist war and the escalating attacks on democratic rights not only in Ukraine and Russia, but the US, across Europe and internationally.
To support the fight to free Bogdan Syrotiuk, sign the petition and learn more about the case, go to wsws.org/freebogdan.