Ruslan Kotsaba, a Ukrainian journalist and blogger, was arrested on 7 February 2015 after posting a video addressed to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, in which he voiced criticism for the mobilisation campaign conducted in the country and called on his fellow citizens to boycott it Amnesty international has declared Kotsaba a “prisoner of conscience”.
34 members of the European Parliament signed in December 2015 a letter condemning the arrest of the journalist “simply for doing his work” and calling for the immediate release of Ruslan Kotsaba. The European Parliament will hold a hearing in Brussels on 26 January to discuss his case.