Sputnik Editor-In-Chief Comments on Ukrainian President's Inauguration, Vyshinsky's Case
RT and Sputnik Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan said after Monday's inauguration of Volodymyr Zelenskiy as the new Ukrainian president that she had no comment on the event, but rather only a question on when head of RIA Novosti Ukraine news portal Kirill Vyshinsky would be released from Ukrainian jail
Earlier on Monday, Zelenskiy was inaugurated in Kiev after a landslide win in a runoff on April 21.
"I have no comments to offer, [he was] sworn in, and that's that. I only have one question. When will Kirill Vyshinsky be released?" Simonyan said.
The Russian Union of Journalists has called on Zelenskiy to instruct Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office to review the lawfulness of a criminal case against Vyshinsky and release him, the union's chair, Vladimir Solovyev, told Sputnik.
"For more than a year, Kirill Vyshinsky has been behind bars in Ukraine solely for his professional journalistic activities .
.. The time has come for the new president of Ukraine to put an end to this issue. We are confident that a review of lawfulness of the case of Kirill Vyshinsky will lead to his early release. Therefore, we call upon Volodymyr Zelenskiy to take all legal measures to release journalist Kirill Vyshinsky, who fell victim to political processes, in particular, issue a corresponding order to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine," Solovyev said.
Vyshinsky was detained in Kiev on May 15, 2018, on suspicion of treason and supporting the eastern Ukrainian breakaway republics, for which he faces up to 15 years in prison. His arrest has been extended until July 22.
In April this year, more than 250 journalists in Russia and from across the world signed a petition for Zelenskiy asking him to free Vyshinsky. A similar petition was earlier signed by almost 50 public figures and journalists from Latin America.