Two of the Maruti Suzuki India workers who were jailed-for-life on frame-up murder charges have issued statements urging workers in India and around the world to demand the immediate release of Comrade Bogdan Syrotiuk—the Ukrainian Trotskyist arbitrarily imprisoned and facing grave criminal charges for opposing the NATO instigated Ukraine war.

“The capitalist class trapped us, the Maruti Suzuki workers, on false charges of murder,” wrote Dhanraj. “Along similar lines they are trying to frame up Comrade Bogdan on false charges.”

In his statement Dhanraj urges workers across India to demand Bogdan’s immediate release, adding, “On behalf of Indian workers, I say that this war between Russia and Ukraine should be brought to an end.”

Amarjeet, who like Dhanraj was a leader of a rank-and-file rebellion at Maruti Suzuki’s car assembly plant in Manesar, Haryana, prior to his 2012 arrest, highlighted that Comrade Bogdan Syrotiuk is being persecuted for fighting for socialist internationalism in opposition to all the belligerent governments and states. “I demand,” he wrote, “the Ukraine government release our comrade unconditionally. Bogdan Syrotiuk did not do or say anything wrong. What he did was fight for the sake of the international working class. He fought and is fighting for workers’ power (soviets).”

Amarjeet appealed to workers to “organise protests and marches to fight for the release of Comrade Bogdan. We demand that this war be brought to an end, peace brought to both the countries and no damages be further done to its citizens and civilians.”

Bogdan, aged 25 and in ill-health, has been jailed by Ukraine’s far-right, US-NATO sponsored, martial law regime since April 25. He faces treason charges that carry penalties of 15 years in prison, which given the horrific conditions that prevail in Ukraine’s prison would constitute a veritable death sentence—all based on the transparent lie that because he opposes the war on a socialist basis he is an agent of Russia’s reactionary capitalist government.   

In fact, Comrade Bogdan is a leader of the Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists, a youth organization active in Ukraine, Russia and other former republics of the Soviet Union that is in political sympathy with the International Committee of the Fourth International, the world Trotskyist movement and the publisher of the World Socialist Web Site.    

As the WSWS has demonstrated through a meticulous rebuttal of the Ukrainian state’s documents indicting Bodgan, he is being illegally persecuted for working with the WSWS to unite Ukrainian and Russian workers in opposition to the war, the NATO powers who instigated it, and the Zelensky and Putin regimes that represent the rival capitalist oligarchies that emerged from the Stalinist bureaucracies’ dissolution of the Soviet Union.  

Dhanraj and Amarjeet are among the 13 Maruti Suzuki workers who after almost five years of pre-trial imprisonment were sentenced in March 2017 to life imprisonment on trumped up murder charges. As the WSWS has detailed in a five-part series, they were the victims of a monstrous frame-up involving Maruti Suzuki, the police, courts, India’s two principal political parties, the Congress Party and the Hindu supremacist BJP, and the Haryana state and Indian Union governments.

Over the objections of the Haryana government and based on their having already spent nearly a decade in jail, the courts recently ordered the suspension of the convictions of the surviving 11 of the 13 pending the outcome of their appeals. Because of their release, the WSWS was recently able to interview several of the persecuted Maruti Suzuki militants.

They and their families continue to endure great financial hardship. The workers remain under grave threat of being returned to prison, as the Indian authorities and Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest automaker, continue to uphold their frame-up convictions despite their obvious bogus character.        

We urge workers, youth, academics, artists and all those in India and around the world who defend democratic rights to heed the courageous call issued by the framed-up Maruti Suzuki workers and join the fight for Comrade Bogdan’s freedom.     

You can sign the petition to the Ukrainian authorities demanding Bogdan’s immediate release, write a comment and donate to the fight for Bogdan’s freedom at wsws.org/freebogdan.

Here follow the statements from Dhanraj and Amarjeet in full:

I am Dhanraj, a victimised Maruti Suzuki worker. I oppose those who have framed up Comrade Bogdan Syrotiuk and are holding him captive in prison. I demand his release from jail and urge the Indian working class to demand his immediate release. On behalf of Indian workers, I say that this war between Russia and Ukraine should be brought to an end. The capitalist class trapped us, the Maruti Suzuki workers, on false charges of murder. Along similar lines they are trying to frame up Comrade Bogdan on false charges.

* *  *

On Thursday, April 25, Ukraine’s fascist government, working in concert with its NATO masters, had a socialist, Comrade Bogdan Syrotiuk arrested by the secret police of Ukraine, in the name of the “safety” of Ukraine.

I strongly condemn this act of the Ukraine government. I demand the Ukraine government release our comrade unconditionally. Bogdan Syrotiuk did not do or say anything wrong. What he did was fight for the sake of the international working class. He fought and is fighting for workers’ power (soviets). We have to fight against such frame ups to protect the workers from injury. This is all the more necessary, as Bogdan’s health is not in good condition. And I appeal again for the release of our comrade Bogdan Syrotiuk.

Hereby,

Amarjeet. (Jailed Maruti Suzuki worker)