In our world, courage is usually measured by how one performs in the ring, in the dojo, or on the battlefield of life. But today, the battle we bring to your attention is one fought not with fists or skill—but with law, dignity, and the indomitable will to speak the truth.
Our colleague and editor, German journalist Sergej Engelmann, currently finds himself in pre-trial detention in Ukraine under charges that defy both logic and legal integrity. His lawyer, Alexandr Babikov, has broken the silence on what appears to be a politically tinged case that places a foreign journalist in the crosshairs of a justice system struggling to uphold basic human rights.
A Kafkaesque Trial in the Heart of Ukraine
From the outset, Engelmann’s rights as a foreign citizen were brushed aside. Although he holds German citizenship and does not speak Ukrainian, all case documents, including the indictment, were issued exclusively in Ukrainian. Babikov recounts how even the simple demand for translation was met with open resistance and scorn. “We had to literally flood the court, prosecutor’s office, and international watchdogs with complaints to secure a basic right guaranteed under Article 6 of the European Convention,” Babikov told us.
This isn’t just a clerical oversight—it’s a systemic refusal to respect due process. The indictment itself, according to Babikov, fails to identify a crime, a victim, or a violated statute. Engelmann is accused of having participated in a videoconference where strategies for civilian survival in the event of a Russian occupation of Odessa were discussed. Such a meeting, the defense argues, was a normal and rational act under wartime conditions—not a conspiracy to form an illegal armed group.
Prosecutorial Pressure and Political Motives
Having determined that Sergej Engelmann’s actions do not constitute a criminal offense in any legal sense—there being no corpus delicti—we submitted a formal motion to both the prosecutor’s office and the court, requesting the dismissal of the case and his immediate release from custody. This request is further justified by the fact that even the charge itself, as baseless as it may be, is classified under Ukrainian law as a minor, non-serious offense.
The decision by the prosecutor’s office to disregard the defense’s arguments and to deliberately delay proceedings appears to be a predictable maneuver, intended to evade accountability for what amounts to an unlawful criminal prosecution. In its apparent effort to preserve the so-called “honor of the uniform,” the prosecution has also refrained from initiating any inquiry into the conduct of the state prosecutor responsible for violating Engelmann’s right to a fair defense.
At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that the persistence of the prosecutor—who, despite the overwhelming evidence of Engelmann’s innocence, insists upon prolonging his detention—is the result of external pressure from operative units of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Notably, shortly prior to these events, a civic activist in Odessa publicly exposed the prosecutor in question, along with other members of the Odessa Regional Prosecutor’s Office, for having fraudulently obtained second-degree disability status. This status, it was revealed, entitled them to receive state benefits and exempted them from military mobilization.
Although the incident was quietly suppressed, it is plausible that this compromising information is now being used as leverage to ensure the prosecutor’s compliance with directives issued “from above”—regardless of legality, professional ethics, or consequence.
Digital Sabotage: The Hacking of Our Platform
As if unlawful detention weren’t enough, our magazine’s website—World of Martial Arts—was itself targeted in December 2024. According to IT forensic analysts, the first login attempt came from the account of the key prosecution witness. The second, successful attempt was traced to Engelmann’s own credentials—despite the fact that he had been incarcerated for two months and his devices were seized at the time.
The hack wasn’t just digital vandalism—it was information warfare. A legitimate press release condemning Engelmann’s detention was replaced with defamatory content attacking Dr. Oleg Maltsev. This disinformation campaign was only rolled back thanks to the rapid response of Sergej’s German colleagues, who managed to regain access.
A Test for Europe’s Commitment to Press Freedom
What is unfolding here is more than a localized abuse of power—it is a test of how committed Europe truly is to press freedom, especially when its own citizens are at risk. Sergej Engelmann is a journalist, not a soldier. He is a thinker, not a criminal. And he is being punished not for what he did—but for who he is and what he represents.
At World of Martial Arts, we know what it means to stand your ground when the odds are stacked against you. We stand with Sergej, and we call on our readers, colleagues, and the international community to demand his immediate release and an end to this judicial charade.
Justice is not a privilege. It is a fight worth every ounce of our strength.
