The OSCE Chairman and Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Laichak during a press conference following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that he would help resolve the situation with RIA Novosti head of Ukraine Kirill Vyshinsky, who was arrested by the Ukrainian authorities in May 2018.
“I am ready to use the authority of the OSCE chairman for direct contacts and to resolve this issue. We have a dialogue with Ukraine on a number of issues, and we feel that some problems need to be brought to the level of the presiding officer, and I am ready to do it, ”said Laichak.
In turn, Russian Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that Moscow is keeping this issue under control. In addition, Russia itself will take all the necessary measures, as well as actively support the OSCE efforts, which Laichak said.
“We will strive to ensure that this next blatant manifestation of complete disrespect for the profession of a journalist is eliminated. When a person for his professional, journalistic activity is not a forbidden profession, he is accused of high treason, this is too much, ”the Russian Foreign Minister explained.
According to him, the Russian side will fight for Vyshinsky "until a positive result is achieved."
Earlier, OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greming has repeatedly stated that the organization is following with concern the lengthy pre-trial detention of the head of RIA Novosti Ukraine, Kirill Vyshinsky.
- OSCE Chairman Miroslav Laichak.
- RIA News
- © Vitaly Belousov
Vyshinsky's letter
It should be noted that on Tuesday, February 19, the head of the RIA Novosti Ukraine portal, Cyril Vyshinsky, turned 52 years old. Currently, he is in the Kherson detention center. According to him, all the charges against him are absurd, and the evidence of the Security Service of Ukraine is refuted by its experts.
“My“ case ”has an obvious political background - on the eve of the presidential elections, the Ukrainian authorities needed another reason for anti-Russian hysteria and a way to“ tighten the screws ”in the media,” the letter says.
In addition, the journalist thanked for the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has now become for him not just a man "from the news feed."
“Vladimir Putin was among those who called my arrest a persecution for fulfilling my professional duty literally in the first days after my arrest,” Vyshinsky said.
“He talked about this during a meeting with his colleague Angela Merkel, said this during the“ Straight Line ”with the Russians in the summer of 2018. For a journalist who is in prison on a fabricated charge, such support, personal support, is worth a lot, ”the journalist added.
Recall that the lawsuit against the head of RIA Novosti Ukraine Cyril Vyshinsky conducted from May 15, 2018, when he was detained on charges of supporting the self-proclaimed republics of Donbass and treason. Under this article, the journalist faces up to 15 years in prison. The term of Vyshinsky's detention was repeatedly extended - according to the latest court decision, his arrest was extended until April 8.
Meanwhile, on March 20, the Supreme Court of Ukraine will hold a meeting on the legality of the arrest of a journalist, at which Vyshinsky will be present.
"In Ukraine, there is a dictatorship and persecution of freedom of speech"
Professor of the Department of Comparative Political Science at the RUDN University, Yury Pocht, in an interview with RT, noted that in Ukraine, on the one hand, they declare freedom of speech, and on the other, they ruthlessly crack down on objectionable journalists. At the same time, the international community, he said, prefers to turn a blind eye to it.
“The situation is scandalous, shameful, saying that, when necessary, all sorts of declarations on the rights of journalists, on freedom of the press, on freedom of dissemination of information are discarded for the sake of political expediency,” the expert stressed.
"The Kiev authorities act as they can and ensure the continuation of the group that came to power in an illegal way," he added.
The political analyst also recalled that in Ukraine there were cases of outright reprisals against journalists who expressed a different point of view from the state. Unfortunately, the arrest of a journalist in Ukraine is not the worst thing that can happen to a representative of this profession.
“Kiev authorities are trying to control the media. The persecutions are so multifaceted that the fact that Vyshinsky remained alive is a great success. This is the practice of capturing people, it does not bother anyone and does not care, ”concluded the Post, adding that the time has come for active actions.
Being imprisoned, Kirill Vyshinsky, behaves very worthily and courageously, despite the fact that his legal rights are grossly violated. This opinion was expressed by Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics, Moscow State Pedagogical University, in a conversation with RT.
“This example and many others testify that the current Ukrainian government violates all legal norms. It is a vivid symbol of the violation of the norms of international law and human rights by a supposedly democratic state, nothing like this can be imagined in a normal democratic country, ”the political scientist noted.
According to the expert, it is necessary to break the gap of indifference of the western countries, from whose tacit consent these offenses occur. According to him, the Vyshinsky case should be discussed in all international instances, starting with the UN.
“The situation is not only blatant, but clearly demonstrates the neglect of human rights by the United States and other Western countries, which in fact give the Ukrainian regime good to carry out such intimidating actions against journalists. Already, there is a dictatorship and persecution regarding freedom of speech in Ukraine - this is especially alarming on the eve of presidential elections, ”the expert emphasized.