Roman Sushchenko thanks PEN Club members from Sweden and Germany for their support

The letter also includes the poem "Widertritt” by Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg, an Austrian poet of the 17th century, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“My dear colleagues, representatives of the PEN Club, Morten Blomkvist, Annika Thor, Shirvan Nurey, Bennit O. and Hans Poppel. Let me thank you for your kind and sincere words of support. I’m very touched. On the Christmas Eve, I was glad to read your words full of deep meaning, directness and warmth. God works in mysterious ways. We learned about each other under sad circumstances. Let’s have the pleasure of knowing each other. It’s a great honor for me," Sushchenko wrote.

In his letter to the writers, poets and journalists from Sweden and Germany, Roman Sushchenko chose the poem "Widertritt,” which he found in the prison library in Lefortovo. The poem is about the strength of will and unwavering courage.

Also, Sushchenko said he was pleased to learn that during the holidays, Ukrinform had received greeting cards in his name from PEN clubs of Great Britain, Tasmania, Melbourne, Austria, Belgium and other countries.

It should be noted that Sushchenko is forced to write letters in Russian because of censorship.

As reported, Ukrinform correspondent in France Roman Sushchenko was arrested on September 30, 2016 in Moscow, where he arrived on a private visit. He was accused of “espionage”, allegedly being a member of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. The Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate denied allegations of the Russian Federal Security Service.

January 24, 2018, the Moscow City Court extended the arrest of Ukrinform journalist Roman Sushchenko until March 30, 2018.

Roman Sushchenko has been working with the Ukrainian National News Agency Ukrinform since 2002, being a Paris-based correspondent since 2010.

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