“Persecution of dissident journalists”: the court in Kiev left Vyshinsky under arrest until September 19

The Podolsky court of Kiev extended the arrest of the head of RIA Novosti, Kirill Vyshinsky, until September 19. The next meeting on the choice of a preventive measure will be held on September 16.

Thus, the court granted the prosecution’s motion. According to the position of the prosecutor's office, since the journalist has Russian citizenship, he allegedly can leave Ukraine. Also, the prosecution claims that if Vyshinsky is released from custody, he will be able to put pressure on witnesses.

Vyshinsky's lawyer, Andrei Domansky, in a conversation with Ruptly, said that the defense will appeal this decision within the next 7 days.

"From our side, an appeal will be filed, and, accordingly, we will look at how this (the decision of the Podolsky district court in Kiev - RT ) will be dealt with by the court of appeal," he said.

The lawyer also expressed the hope that at the next meeting all the witnesses in the case will be interviewed, and therefore the fears of the prosecutor's office that Vyshinsky will be able to influence them will be removed. This may contribute to the release of a journalist from arrest, said Domansky.

“If the appellate court does not change the measure of restraint, we can talk about changing it already on September 16,” the lawyer added.

Vyshinsky himself during the meeting stressed that he was not going to run away and opposed initiatives to exchange him for Ukrainians who are in places of detention in Russia.

“I’m not going to run away anywhere, I want justice. I heard that they want to exchange me, but I am not the thing to change me, ”he told reporters.

We note that the court had to choose a preventive measure for Vyshinsky on July 15, but the meeting was postponed to the 19th. According to the official reason, one of the judges, who was supposed to be present at the hearing, was in the meeting room in another case.

"Ukraine has never entered the" civilized European space "

Recall Vyshinsky was detained by the SBU in May last year on charges of treason and illegal arms trafficking, for which he could face up to 15 years in prison. Vyshinsky denies his guilt and says that his detention has political motives, the accusations against him are absurd, and the facts are “picked manipulatively”.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called it a shame that the refusal to release Vyshinsky under personal guarantee.

"Shame and shame. That's all European values, ”Zakharova wrote on Facebook.

Sergey Tsekov, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Council of the Federation of the Republic of Crimea, recalled that the prosecution did not provide evidence of Vyshinsky’s guilt.

“This is a completely unlawful decision, based not on the violation of the law by Kirill Vyshinsky. There is no evidence of what he is accused of. This is an exclusively political decision. This explains the extension of the arrest until September 19. Although, by and large, they didn’t just have to let him go - his arrest itself was illegal, ”he told RT.

At the same time, representatives of the Western media are not outraged by the persecution of Vyshinsky, said State Duma deputy from the Republic of Crimea Ruslan Balbek.

“Kirill Vyshinsky is a clear example that all the“ fathers ”of free Western journalism lied to us about corporate solidarity. Where is their indignation at the illegal detention and imprisonment of the chief editor of RIA Novosti Ukraine? ”He stressed in a conversation with RT.

The fact that the case against Vyshinsky continues is evidence of a policy of harassment of independent media in Ukraine, which continues despite the coming to power of the new president, Vladimir Zelensky, an international lawyer and honorary lawyer of Russia Valery Vanin is convinced.

“The extension of the arrest of Vyshinsky, like the case itself, is the persecution of dissident journalists in Ukraine. Unfortunately, with the coming to power of the new president of Zelensky, this did not stop, and today the court’s decision confirmed that even the measure of restraint was not changed. Such decisions make it clear that Ukraine has never entered “into a civilized European space,” he said in an interview with RT.

The release of Vyshinsky from custody was also called for in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

“It is terrible that today the arrest of journalist Kirill Vyshinsky was extended in Ukraine for another two months. I repeat my call for his release to the country's leadership, ”Twitter told the organization the words of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Arlem Desir.

#Ukraine for two more months. I reiterate my call for his release. I will spare no effort for this.

Zelensky's offer

Earlier, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that Kiev was ready to exchange the head of RIA Novosti Ukraine, Kirill Vyshinsky, for Ukrainian Oleg Sentsov.

“Regarding Mr Vyshinsky. If these are the first normal steps, if such conditions exist, then we are ready. Let us give you Mr. Vyshinsky if you want. Give us back Mr. Sentsov, ”RIA Novosti Zelensky quotes.

Recall that if Vyshinsky is under investigation in Ukraine on charges of treason, then Sentsov’s fault in organizing terrorist acts in Crimea was proven, for which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Russia.

Zelensky expressed the view that the exchange of Vyshinsky for Sentsov should be "the first step of goodwill."

Offering Sentsov for exchange, Kiev is trying to expose him to victims of “Russian aggression”, the political scientist and economist Alexander Dudchak is convinced. He recalled that the investigation had found evidence of the terrorist activities of the Ukrainian, for which he was convicted.

“They need victims from time to time, who are“ raised to the shield, ”and then they don’t know what to do with them. So it was with (Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda. - RT ) Savchenko. What was needed was not so much Savchenko as the reason to file claims to Russia. The same happened with the sailors who were allowed in the hope that one of them would die. That is, there was a clear expectation that not all of them would come back alive, ”he told RT.

The same fact that Vyshinsky is unprovenly accused of his professional activities speaks about the degradation of the Ukrainian judicial system, provoked by the country's Prosecutor General Yury Lutsenko, Dudchak stressed.

“For these five years, the Ukrainian government has turned the judicial system into an“ invalid ”, which it will be very difficult to“ cure ”...“ Thank you ”to this power and personally to Lutsenko for bringing the judicial system to the level of a gang that holds government posts,” the expert added .

“It could be a great first step.”

Earlier, the Kremlin said that the release from custody of the head of RIA Novosti Ukraine Kirill Vyshinsky could be the first step to normalize relations between Moscow and Kiev.

“Vyshinsky's return is a great first step. In general, any steps to free people will be welcome, ”said Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian president.

Russia has repeatedly raised the issue of the release of Vyshinsky, as his persecution is caused by political motives, said in an interview with RIA Novosti Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin.

“The Russian side in contacts with foreign partners, including Ukrainian ones, invariably raises the question of the release of the chief editor of RIA Novosti, Ukraine, Kirill Vyshinsky. For us, it is absolutely clear that he was detained solely for his professional activities, and his “business” is purely political in nature, ”the diplomat noted.