CrimeaSOS: The International Federation of Sports Orienteering expressed its support for Kyrylo Barannyk
15 / 08 / 2023
The International Orienteering Federation (IOF) expressed its support for the master of sports in orienteering Kyrylo Barannyk, imprisoned in Crimea. This is stated on the organization’s Facebook page.
The full text of the organization’s post:
UKRANIAN ATHLETES STAND UP FOR IMPRISONED TEAMMATE
The Ukrainian orienteering community is trying to raise awareness about their teammate Kyrylo Barannyk, who is currently imprisoned in Simferopol, Crimea.
According to the Ukrainian O-community, Barannyk was arrested in May accused of participating in the war on Ukrainian side and has since been subjected to torture. He is reportedly kept in a pre-trial detention centre in Simferopol.
Barannyk is a master of sports in orienteering and has competed in international competitions for Ukraine – e.g. in the European Youth Orienteering Championships in Macedonia, 2014.
Ukrainian orienteers are trying to highlight Barannyk’s case with the hope of getting him released.
IOF has no chance of verifying the details that are brought out in Kyrylo Barannyk’s case, but nevertheless finds reason to pass on the story of the struggle of the Ukrainian athletes for their teammate.
IOF has openly expressed its solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian orienteering community and was among the first international sports federations to suspend the Russian and Belarusian federations after the outbreak of the war in February, 2022.
In July 2023, Ukrainian athletes began to spread posts with the call #FreeKyryloBarannyk demanding the release of Kyrylo Barannyk, a master of sports in orienteering, unjustly imprisoned in Crimea.
On May 30, 2023, employees of the FSB of the russian federation actually abducted Kyrylo Barannyk in the middle of the day in Simferopol, the capital of occupied Crimea. He was accused of setting explosions on the railway tracks in the Bakhchysarai area on February 23, 2023. Since then, he has been tortured in the cells of pre-trial detention centre #2 in the city of Simferopol.
Torture is an international crime. Persons involved in the torture of Barannyk should be brought to justice in the International Criminal Court.