Isolyatsia: must speak
About the project
‘Izolyatsia: must speak’ is a comprehensive project that combines a political and informational campaign with an artistic component. The project was founded in December 2020 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and is conducted jointly with the ‘Izolyatsia’ Foundation, the Ukrainian Institute and Stanislav Aseyev, Ukrainian journalist, writer and former political prisoner of the Russian Federation.
The goal of the project
The goal of the campaign is to draw the international community’s attention to the specific facts of human rights violations and tortures in the temporarily Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, in particular in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with an ultimate goal of shutting down of the illegal prison called ‘Izolyatsia’ (de facto – a concentration camp) and other similar objects.
Story of an illegal prison
‘Izolyatsia’ is an illegal prison, equipped by the Russian Federation on the site of a former insulation materials factory in the temporarily Russian-occupied territory of Ukraine in Donetsk. Before the Russian invasion in 2014, this space was used by the ‘Izolyatsia’ platform for cultural initiatives.
To find out more about illegal prison ‘Izolyatsia’ visit the website.
Presentation of the "Isolyatsia: must speak" project
The “Isolyatsia: must speak” project was presented in December 2020. Stanislav Aseyev presented his book «The Bights Path. History of One Concentration Camp», which stands as documentary evidence of war crimes that took place in the «Izolyatsia» prison.
The book was translated into English with the support of the Embassy of Canada to Ukraine.
«Severe human rights violations, illegal arrests, fake trials and unspeakable long sentences of up to 20 years in prison based on fabricated charges have become inherent elements of Russia`s repressive policy in the occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea. We are doing our best to keep this in the focus of attention of our international partners and encourage them to hold all responsible accountable. In this regard we commend the announcement made three days ago on the launch of the EU global human rights mechanism. We will be working on its application in our case»
«People are being tortured not only to extract the necessary testimony. The specificity of Isolation is that even when you have already signed everything, you continue to be tortured»,
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all diplomatic missions of Ukraine abroad, as well as the Ukrainian Institute and the International Foundation Izolyatsia was actively working on the implementation of the campaign in 2021.
About the ‘Izolyatsia’ Foundation
The ‘Izolyatsia’ Foundation is a non-profit non-governmental platform for cultural initiatives, founded in 2010 in Donetsk on the site of a former insulation materials plant. It is to this very plant that the ‘Izolyatsia’ Foundation owes its name.
In its early years the ‘Izolyatsia’ Foundation realised more than 20 art projects.
In June 2014, illegal armed groups of the Russian Federation seized its premises and the institution was forced to move to Kyiv.
And after 7 years of work in Kyiv, the ‘Izolyatsia’ Foundation decided to focus its activity on regional locations and projects aimed at decentralisation, so in 2021 it opened an office in the city of Soledar in the Donetsk region and continues its work there. Learn more about ‘Izolyatsia’ Foundation’s projects here.