Kirill Vyshinsky,
editor-in-chief of the RIA Novosti Ukraine news agency, is accused of high
treason in Ukraine.
MOSCOW, May 17.
/TASS/. Russia’s lower house, the State Duma, on Thursday passed a statement
calling on Kiev to immediately release Kirill Vyshinsky, editor-in-chief of the
RIA Novosti Ukraine news agency, who was detained and accused of high treason
in Ukraine.
The Russian lawmakers
also called on the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe to take a principled stance regarding the violations of
journalists’ rights in Ukraine. "Such steps by the Kiev authorities
against RIA Novosti Ukraine and its personnel working there are a flagrant
arbitrary action of Ukraine’s special services," the document stressed.
The statement says
that using force against journalists who fulfill their duties runs counter to
basic European values such as the freedom of speech and expression enshrined in
the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and other international documents.
"The State Duma
calls on the OSCE and the Council of Europe to take a principled stance
regarding the repeated facts of violating journalists’ rights in Ukraine and
demands that the Kiev authorities immediately release Vyshinsky," it said.
On May 15, the
Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) carried out a large-scale operation against
RIA Novosti Ukraine staff members, accusing them of high treason. The news
agency’s chief editor Kirill Vyshinsky was detained outside his home early in
the morning.
Soon after that,
searches were conducted in the news agency’s Kiev office and press center, as
well as in some journalists’ apartments. At the same time, the SBU issued a
statement claiming that "a network of media structures, which Moscow used
for carrying out a hybrid war" against Kiev had been exposed. Russia has
sent a note of protest to Kiev.
Source: ITAR-TASS
17-05-2018
