COPENHAGEN, 23 July 2026 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on Political Prisoners Steve Cohen and the Parliamentary Assembly Support Team for Ukraine’s Special Rapporteur Boris Dittrich have expressed deep concern over the continued illegal detention of three OSCE officials – Dmytro Shabanov, Vadym Golda and Maksym Petrov – who have now been held for more than four years. 

They noted that this marks more than four years of unjust deprivation of liberty, at a time when Russia’s full-scale invasion and war of aggression against Ukraine continues to have devastating consequences for the civilian population and to cause widespread human suffering.

Cohen and Dittrich stressed that the continued detention of the three officials  – who were carrying out their official duties under the OSCE mandate as members of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine –  constitutes a clear violation of their mandate. They reiterated that Dmytro Shabanov, Vadym Golda and Maksym Petrov must be released immediately and unconditionally.

Special Representative Cohen and Special Rapporteur Dittrich called on OSCE participating States to do their utmost to support the efforts of OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu, as well as all relevant diplomatic initiatives, aimed at securing the immediate and unconditional release of the three detained officials.

They also noted that, through a joint statement, a growing number of members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly have called for increased efforts to secure their release. Cohen and Dittrich encouraged participating States to continue raising the case of the three detained officials in their contacts with the relevant authorities and to actively support all diplomatic efforts aimed at securing their immediate and unconditional release.

For more information on the work of the Special Representative on Political Prisoners, please click here.

For more information on the work of the Parliamentary Assembly Support Team for Ukraine, please click here.