UPDATE MARCH 22, 2026
Yurii is free for the moment and recounts his experience in the video below. He was kidnapped, locked up, and tortured. He was taken to a conscription center, beaten, dragged, and pepper-sprayed in the face, threatened, mocked, and told he would need to join the military. His insistence that he was a conscientious objector, and his requests for a lawyer or a doctor were ignored.
World BEYOND War Board Member, pacifist, and opponent of all wars and violence, Yurii Sheliazhenko has been abducted by police in Ukraine. He has long been threatened and falsely accused of supporting Russian warmaking.
Please sign this petition.
We will post updates here as we have them. If you learn anything please add it in the comments.
Yurii Sheliazhenko, PhD, is a Member of the Board of Directors of World BEYOND War. He is based in Ukraine. Yurii is executive secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, a board member of the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, and a council member of the International Peace Bureau. He obtained a Master of Mediation and Conflict Management degree in 2021 and a Master of Laws degree in 2016 at KROK University. In addition to his participation in the peace movement, he is a journalist, blogger, human rights defender, and legal scholar, an author of academic publications and a lecturer on legal theory and history. He has been a facilitator for World BEYOND War’s online courses. Yurii is a winner of the International Peace Bureau’s 2022 Sean MacBride Peace Prize.
From Quaker Meeting in Kiev:
Today, March 19, 2026, representatives of the Pechersk District Police in Kyiv, along with an individual claiming to be a TCC (Territorial Recruitment Center) officer who refused to identify himself, illegally detained Yurii Sheliazhenko—a human rights defender, pacifist, and conscientious objector to military service.
This act of lawlessness took place on Perspektyvna Street. The detention was led by Senior Operative Serhiy Vitaliyovych Nakopyuk. No protocol was drawn up. Yurii managed to call his lawyer, but the officers did not wait for the lawyer’s arrival. According to Yurii, he is currently being transported to an unknown location at 20 Boichuka St. This is an illegal detention and a gross violation of human rights.
OPEN LETTER TO THE OMBUDSMAN OF UKRAINE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS:
March 19, 2026
To the Ombudsman of Ukraine for Human rights
hotline@ombudsman.gov.ua
From David Swanson, Executive Director of World BEYOND War
We understand that Yurii Sheliazhenko has been arrested.
A petition to the Ukrainian government, signed thus far by 12,000 reads:
We call on you to drop any legal proceedings against Yurii Sheliazhenko, and to respect human rights, the right to conscientious objection, and the right to freedom of speech. The absurdity of prosecuting someone for justifying Russian warmaking on the basis of a statement in which he has explicitly condemned Russian warmaking, is matched by the absurdity of waging war in the name of freedom and democracy while engaging in this sort of harassment of citizens. We urge you to do better.
If you are not familiar with Yurii’s case, here is a great deal of background material.
The Ukrainian government is not alone in struggling to understand the concept of opposing both sides of a war. To many people the world over it sounds like a misstatement or nonsense or some sort of trick. Yet, if two members of the Ukrainian government were to propose settling a policy disagreement by means of a duel with loaded pistols at 20 paces, everyone else would oppose both sides of the duel.
If humanity is to survive much longer it will probably need to start viewing war as it views dueling. The fact that many, many people are not there yet does not mean that Yurii does not hold a coherent system of belief. One must suspect that a failure to quite understand this has led to the absurdity mentioned above of taking a statement by Yurii explicitly opposing both sides of the war, including the Russian side, and presenting it as evidence of Yurii supposedly supporting the Russian side.
The ongoing harassment of Yurii Sheliazhenko is in any case a terrible violation of the right to conscientious objection, which needs to be respected whether understood or not.
The petition linked above includes thousands of comments. These are drawn from the first couple of pages:
“My solidarity with the advocate and activist of Peace Yurii, guarantee for his life, and full respect for his rights.”
“Mr. Sheliazhenko’s anti-war stance does not make him a criminal worthy of search and seizure without bothering to present a warrant. Any charges against him resulting from any such process violating judicial norms of a society claiming to be a democracy exposes the anti-democratic junta nature of the said society that also denies him freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Demand an explanation from the Ukrainian government, an apology, and return of all his possessions.”
“As a Ukrainian-American, I strongly urge you to drop the prosecution of Mr. Sheliazhenko.”
“If this is how the Ukrainian gov’t respects democratic freedoms, I don’t think the US should support it.”
“Yurii is a pacifist. Why would he justify aggression? The charge is outrageous and illogical. Drop the charge and apologise!”
“Yurii Seliazhenko is not an enemy of the state. He is an academic and a respected peace activist. Don’t arrest people who are exposing the waste and stupidity of war. Negotiate a path to peace.”
“Nonviolent peace activists must be protected, not prosecuted or otherwise persecuted. These are the people that, if allowed to do so, will save human life on this planet.”
“Do not prosecute Yurii Sheliazhenko for upholding peace, peace is our only chance.”
“To harass one of the few voices of reason in this war makes no sense. Instead the blood lust of both nations continues unabated. Instead of blaming the war mongers they blame those subjected to this slaughter. Peace now not years from now.”
“Sad move on the Ukranian government/police officials. Peace will not be silenced.”
“Please stop this grave injustice and drop prosecution of Yurii Sheliazhenko!”
“Show respect for human rights and the right to dissent in Ukraine. Leave Yuri alone; He is a pacifist.”
“Prosecuting Yuri undermines belief that the Ukrainian government is fighting for freedom. Very disturbing.”
“Drop this prosecution and allow this peaceful person the rights that everyone should have.”
“I have been following Yurii’s work for over a year and am very supportive of him. He is a pacifist who consistently condemns all violence and abuse. I have heard him many times condemn what Russia has been doing since February of 2022.”
“Charges against Yurii Sheliazhenko are utterly absurd, he’s one of the most coherent pacifists ever born on this planet!”
“Yurii is a hero to people around the world. The government must stop persecuting him.”
“Leave a peaceful man in peace!”
“Free all people from all nations who call for conscientious objection to war!”
“Quit acting like Russia which does the same thing to its dissenters!”
URGENT statement about the unlawful detention and deprivation of liberty of Yurii Sheliazhenko by the Ukrainian police and military authorities
The undersigned organisations are shocked by the detention and deprivation of liberty of human rights defender Yurii Sheliazhenko, today March 19th, by the Ukrainian authorities in Kyiv. This is just weeks after a joint call to the authorities to withdraw from such persecutions of conscientious objectors and withdraw their ongoing persecution of Mr. Sheliazhenko.1
According to the information available, Mr. Sheliazhenko was apprehended by officers of the Pechersk District Police in Kyiv without a proper legal basis and without compliance with the procedural safeguards required by Ukrainian law. In particular, there are indications that:
– no detention protocol was drawn up;
– no clear legal grounds for the deprivation of liberty were provided;
– access to legal counsel was obstructed;
– contact with the Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation was obstructed;
– he was transferred, or intended to be transferred, to a Territorial Centre of Recruitment and Social Support (TCC) without due legal procedure.
We note that any involvement of the TCC does not exclude the responsibility of law enforcement officers for the initial deprivation of liberty. These actions may constitute violations of the Constitution of Ukraine and the European Convention on Human Rights, in particular Article 5 (right to liberty and security), and Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Yurii Sheliazhenko is a well-known conscientious objector, publicly declared since 1998, a pacifist and a human rights defender. He is also an academic, the executive secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement (member organisation of War Resisters International), Director of the Institute of Peace and Law in Ukraine, and a Board member of the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection and of World Beyond War.
Tragically, he has previously reported on the cruel practices of “busification”, forced conscription and compulsory military registration occurring in Ukraine, which in some cases have even led to tortures and deaths in military recruitment centers.2
We strongly condemn all these actions as grave human rights violations that have no place in democratic countries.
We urge the Ukrainian authorities to immediately release Yurii Sheliazhenko and cease all procedures of forced conscription.
We remind that his case has been previously included in a Communication by the Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; the Special Rapporteur on minority issues and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.3 The case of Mr. Sheliazhenko, the communication of the Special Rapporteurs and the response of the Ukrainian authorities were highlighted also by the OHCHR, in its report concerning Conscientious objection to military service, and particularly in the chapter titled “Refrain from unduly restricting the human rights of those representing or advocating for the rights of conscientious objectors”.4 His case has been highlighted also in Amnesty International’s Annual Report 2023/2024.5
We repeat our call to the international community to exercise all proper actions to ensure that human rights defenders and peace activists are not criminalised for their actions for peace and nonviolence; moreover, that the right to conscientious objection is fully implemented in line with international standards and that conscientious objectors are provided with the necessary protection against persecution in their country of origin, also with asylum.
Connection e.V.
European Bureau for Conscientious Objection
International Fellowship of Reconciliation
War Resisters’ International
- https://ebco-beoc.org/press-release/2026-01-23-yurii-sheliazhenko-conscientious-objector-to-military-service-and-human-rights-defender-under-immediate-threat ↩︎
- https://ebco-beoc.org/ukraine/2024 ↩︎
- AL UKR 1/2023, 8 November 2023, p. 5-6. https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=28562 ↩︎
- A/HRC/56/30, 23 April 2024, para. 45. https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/56/30↩︎
- https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/7200/2024/en/ p. 385↩︎
LETTER FROM INTERNATIONAL PEACE BUREAU TO Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Maria Telalian, Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
LETTER FROM WORLD BEYOND WAR PRESIDENT KATHY KELLY TO Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Maria Telalian, Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
We write with urgent concern for Yurii Sheliazhenko, PhD, a Member of the Board of Directors of World BEYOND War who is based in Ukraine. We learned on Thursday, 19 March 2026, that Ukrainian police officers in Kyiv have detained Yurii with no clear legal grounds and without allowing him access to his lawyer.
Yurii is executive secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, a board member of the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, and a council member of the International Peace Bureau. He obtained a Master of Mediation and Conflict Management degree in 2021 and a Master of Laws degree in 2016 at KROK University. In addition to his participation in the peace movement, he is a journalist, blogger, human rights defender, and legal scholar, an author of academic publications and a lecturer on legal theory and history. He has been a facilitator for World BEYOND War’s online courses. In 2022, the International Peace Bureau awarded Yurii the Sean MacBride Peace Prize.
World BEYOND War members have visited Yurii in Kiev twice, since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. On both occasions, they recorded testimony about the Ukrainian government’s harassment of Yurii and other conscientious objectors in the Ukraine. During monthly World BEYOND War board meetings, Yurii has updated us about how Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly threatened to imprison him or forcibly conscript him based on charges which violate Ukraine’s responsibilities to uphold conscientious objection as a fundamental human right.
We join a wide range of regional and international organizations, including the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, Pax Christi USA, the International Peace Bureau and the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection in calling for the UN and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, (OSCE), to help protect Yurii Sheliazhenko’s right to conscientious objection and free speech in Ukraine. The OSCE recognizes these rights; such recognition is of vital importance within Ukraine and Russia during this ongoing war. We note that Yurii Sheliazhenko publicly declared his conscientious objection to war in 1998, over twenty years before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Please act swiftly to investigate the Ukrainian authorities’ violations of Yurii’s human rights. We look forward to a public statement from each of your organizations regarding concern for Yurii’s safety and upholding his right to conscientious objection during a time of war.
MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO — THANKS TO Connection e.V.
- Contact and write to your (and others) local Embassies in Ukraine:
- Contact and write to the Ukrainian Embassy in your country: (this is a useful link https://mfa.gov.ua/en/
diplomatic-missions/foreign- diplomatic-institutions- ukraine to search their contacts) - Contact political representatives in your country and in regional and international institutions
- Contact the Kiev Police Department: police@kyiv.police.gov.ua, Tel. +380 44 254 94 88
- Write to the Kiev Enlistment Office: pechersk_rvk@post.mil.gov.ua
- Contact the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs: pgmia@mvs.gov.ua, Tel. +380 44 256 03 33
- Contact the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense: admou@post.mil.gov.ua
- Contact the Ukrainian Ombudsman: hotline@ombudsman.gov.ua, Tel. +380 44 253 75 89
- Contact the State Bureau of Investigation: crime@dbr.gov.ua, Tel. +380 44 300 27 07
- Inform the media
- Share on your social media, political networks, etc.
- Share with your contacts and invite other organizations, agencies, and institutions to take action
- Support the “CO Alert” launched by War Resisters International
- Join World Beyond War call for signatures
29 Responses
Peace activists should never be iincarsersted—-they are the life blood of a democracy.
I implore the immediate release of Yurii Sheliazhenko, a man of great courage who inspires us to stand for non-violence and peace.
I felt real fear and sadness that this could happen to Yurii. I demand along with other peace activist to free Yurii Sheliazhenko. Let him live the life and activism he has chosen to do.
Where in the US are watching you. We demand immediate release of Yurii Sheliazhenko. The manner in which he was arrested, the protocols not observed, all indicate authoritarianism. This is opposite of the reason to fight against Russia.
We here in the US are watching you. We demand immediate release of Yurii Sheliazhenko. The manner in which he was arrested, the protocols not observed, all indicate authoritarianism. This is opposite of the reason to fight against Russia.
We call for the release of Yurii Sheliazhenko. Don’t imitate the authoritarianism you claim to oppose. Those who promote nonviolence are the ones who will save the world.
Yurii Sheliazhenko has been a principled advocate of pacifism and has never encouraged aggression on the part of any warring party. He is a scholarly advocate of citizen diplomacy and civil rights.
Yurii Sheliazhenko is a principled advocate of nonviolence who has never supported aggression by any warring party. His scholarly approach to pacifism and human rights orients peple toward lasting diplomacy, negotiation, and survival.
Abducting a man of peace does not end war.
Yurii is a committed peace activist and conscientious objector. There is no justification for his detainment or prosecution. We call for his immediate release!
We strongly demand that Yurii Sheliazhenko should be released ASAP. He advocates nonviolence, pacifism and human rights based on diplomacy which exemplifies any politicians and diplomats.
Thanks
Yurii Sheliazhenko is not a threat to anyone. His activism is in the name of Peace. Release him from detention now!
Please release Yuri Sheliazhenko – a sane man in a mad world
Ukraine is waging war for freedom+democracy.
Wouldn´t it be better to dare peace for freedom+democracy?
UN-resolutions urge on ending the conflict by “peaceful means”.
Please follow these resolutions, the UN-Charter and the Human Rights Declaration:
Please stop any political persecution of Yurii Sheliazhenko and other conscientious objectors.
Thank you for listening/reading!
Those who work for peace, decry all war, and educate others in looking for alternative solutions to disputes, are the people who will end the madness that is driving so much of humanity. Refusing to fight is not a crime, but a conviction that war is morally wrong.
Yuri only wants to save Ukrainians and Ukraine whom he loves dearly from the bloodbath and human meat grinder in which the neo-Nazi Ukrainian Nationalists have sunk his country with the tacit approval of the U. S. and NATO who use Ukrainian bodies as cannon fodder for their disgusting proxy war.
David-Ross Gerling, PhD
We call for Peace and are grateful for activists like Yuri Sheliazhenko for his efforts.
Release Yurii now!
Voices and actions for peace are the only ones that can deter us from our seemingly unstoppable race to the abyss. Silencing those voices and impeding those actions is allowing murder to guide ours. Fight for life, with all the struggles that fight entails, is our only weapon.
Wage peace. Thank you, Yurii.
Please listen to Yuri.
War is never the answer. We must find avenues for peace.
Conscientious objection should be a sacred right for all people.
So grateful for his life and work. Yes. Free Yuri now.
The war will stop as a result of negotiation. All these people fighting are cannon fodder. It is heartbreaking to see/hear the tragedy of this war. Put your guns away and solve this problem.
Those holding the peace need to be used in the peace process. Don’t waste those skills.
Free Yurii!
Thank you Yuri for standing up to the cruel Ukrainian regime that insists on continued war backed by NATO! Your courage and witness are critical in this time of war and you have set an example of courageous resistance to war in all its forms. It is time we love our enemies and not respond with hate and violence! Blessings dear brother for your faithful witness to the Gospel of Peace and Nonviolence!
He proudly uses his voice to declare his pacifist convictions. Praise be.
Yuri is an example of true braveness, courage, and thoughtful understanding of human nature. The reactionary nature of violence and war gives individuals power, but the peace and long-vision of nonviolence lifts up the best of human beings, of what our lives and communities can be.