On February 27, 2023, on the occasion of the Day of Crimean Resistance to Russian Occupation, PEN Ukraine and the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea held an action "The Art of Solidarity" dedicated to journalists and activists illegally imprisoned in the occupied Crimea.
During the event, Ukrainian writers, singers, and journalists told stories and read letters from journalists and activists illegally imprisoned in occupied Crimea, and artists presented works dedicated to political prisoners that would be sold at a charity auction.
The event was attended by Ukrainian writers, singers, and journalists Alim Aliyev, Nariman Aliyev, Myroslava Barchuk, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Alevtina Kakhidze, Andriy Kurkov, Ruslana Lyzhychko, Yuriy Makarov, Myroslav Marynovych, Vitaliy Portnikov, Iryna Slavinska, and others.
As part of the action, an exhibition of works dedicated to Crimean political prisoners was opened, created especially for the action by Ukrainian artists Olenka Halay, Daria Golovnina, Olena Kayinska, Alevtina Kakhidze, Kateryna Kozynska, Vartan Markaryan, Zirka Savka, Rustem Skybin and Artem Yasynskyi.
The exhibition will run at PEN Ukraine until March 27.
The presented works will be sold at a charity auction, the proceeds from which will be transferred to the Come Back Alive Foundation to raise "10 million for the PANs from Crimea" - for the needs of the advanced air gunners of the 10th Naval Air Brigade named after Ihor Bedzay.
Event organizers: PEN Ukraine, Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Event partner: Come Back Alive.
It is currently known that the Russian Federation illegally detains 180 Ukrainian citizens in its own and occupied territories, 116 of which are Crimean Tatars. Until recently, there were 182 political prisoners, two of whom - Konstantin Shiring and Dzhemil Gafarov - died in detention in February 2023. Of the 180 illegally imprisoned, 33 citizens are from the occupied parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, from where they were illegally transferred to occupied Crimea.