On February 10, 2023, political prisoner Andrii Zakhtei fully served his illegal sentence of 6.5 years. Immediately after his release, the man was transported under convoy to the FKU “TsVSIG ‘Don’” in Rostov region, where he will be kept by court order until May 12.

‍As there are no consular relations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, the return of the political prisoner Andrii Zakhtei is possible only through third countries. The prisoner's wife, Oksana, together with her lawyer, appealed to Latviia, which had previously agreed to allow Zakhtei's departure. By phone, the representatives of the Latvian consulate once again assured that the return of the Ukrainian through their border is quite possible. Now the family is waiting for a written confirmation of this decision.

‍“Russia’s Federal Migration Service says that the only thing they need to release my husband is a document from Latviia. I hope for this with all my heart, but try to keep in mind that everything can go wrong”, Andii Zakhtei’s wife, Oksana, commented to the Association.

‍Earlier, the Migration Service of Ukraine refused Zakhtei in a temporary document to return to Ukraine, citing that it was unable to confirm all the information about his identification from the Unified State Demographic Register.‍

‍As a reminder, Andrii Zakhtei was arrested by russian “security forces” on the night of August 6-7, 2016 near the village of Suvorovo, Crimea. Russia accused Andrii Zakhtei of allegedly “sabotage activities in favor of Ukraine” and sentenced him to 6.5 years in prison. Zakhtei served his sentence in an institution on the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, therefore, during his entire stay in the colony, the Ukrainian consul could not reach him.