On 21 November, 2023, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzhaparova participated in an online meeting between the Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee Berit Lindeman and relatives and lawyers of Ukrainian citizens who are illegally imprisoned by the Russian Federation for political reasons.

Throughout the meeting, various matters pertaining to the detainees' conditions of confinement and the exploration of optimal strategies to assist these individuals were discussed.

Emine Dzhaparova highlighted the activity of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee in advocating for the release of Ukrainian citizens unjustly detained by the Russian Federation. The First Deputy Minister underscored that the format of such meetings will enhance confidence in ensuring that the voices of Ukrainian political prisoners held by the Kremlin are heard and that every possible assistance will be provided for their release.

For reference: in order to garner additional attention of the international community, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is implementing an advocacy mentoring initiative intended for civilian journalists illegally imprisoned and detained in the Russian Federation. In general, the concept of the initiative provides that each of the illegally imprisoned civilian journalists will receive public support from an individual mentor from among influential foreign politicians and government officials, human rights activists, journalists or writers.

The campaign has garnered the participation of distinguished personalities, including Professor Francis Fukuyama from the USA, philosopher Ruprecht Polenz from Germany, Antonio Stango, Chairman of the Italian Federation for the Defence of Human Rights, Anna Fotyga, Member of the European Parliament from Poland, former US Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor, Vice-Marshal of the Polish Sejm Malgorzata Gosiewska, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Vice-President of the German Bundestag Katrin Göring-Eckardt, and French journalist Galia Ackerman.