A UKRAINIAN Trotskyist held in the Mykolaiv high-security prison has been charged with treason for preparing publications for the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS), the media outlet says.

The site, run by one of two organisations called the International Committee of the Fourth International, which traces its ancestry to Leon Trotsky’s Fourth International, has seen documents from the Security Service of Ukraine which accuse Bogdan Syriotuk of “the preparation of publications commissioned by representatives of a Russian propaganda and information agency, the World Socialist Web Site.” The WSWS has no links to the Russian state and has opposed the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The charge carries a potential sentence of life imprisonment for 25-year-old Mr Syriotuk, who heads a Trotskyist organisation called the Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists. WSWS has launched a petition for his release which has attracted wide support, including from rock star Roger Waters.