Editor’s Note: The following is the English-language transcript of Hromadske Radio’s “Ukraine Calling” program on March 3, interviewing Hennadiy Afanasiev. Afanasiev was a law school graduate working as a photographer when he was detained by police in what by then was Russian ruled Crimea. And imprisoned. He managed to survive two years of being tortured in Russian prisons. Since his release in a prisoner exchange he has been involved as a community activist, and working as an advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [of Ukraine] to help other Ukrainian political prisoners.
Hello and welcome to Ukraine Calling, your weekly review of what’s been happening in Ukraine with a focus on a main issue. I’m Oksana Smerechuk for Hromadske Radio in Kyiv, and here’s a look at some of the stories that were in the news this week.
