A Kherson court in Ukraine rejected the request of the defense of RIA Novosti Ukraine web portal head Kirill Vyshinsky, currently under arrest in Ukraine, to have the presiding judge recused, the journalist's lawyer told Sputnik on Wednesday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th December, 2018) A Kherson court in Ukraine rejected the request of the defense of RIA Novosti Ukraine web portal head Kirill Vyshinsky, currently under arrest in Ukraine, to have the presiding judge recused, the journalist's lawyer told Sputnik on Wednesday.On Wednesday, the court had to consider whether or not to extend Vyshinsky's arrest for 50 days. The court hearing started with the defense requesting that judge Yaroslav Musulevsky be removed over his "biased approach" and "prejudice."
"Our request for the recusal of the judge was rejected," Andrei Domansky said.
He specified that the Kherson court rescheduled its session for considering the prosecution's motion to extend the arrest until 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on Thursday.
Vyshinsky was detained in Kiev on May 15 on suspicion of supporting the breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine and treason. Given the charges, the journalist may face up to 15 years in prison.
On May 17, the Kherson court ruled to remand Vyshinsky in custody. The defense appealed the arrest, but the court dismissed the appeal. During a court hearing, Vyshinsky asked for help from Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also said that he would give up his Ukrainian citizenship.
Putin has said that Vyshinsky's arrest was politically motivated, adding that the incident demonstrated an unprecedented and unacceptable policy of Ukrainian authorities targeting journalists doing their jobs. The Russian Foreign Ministry has protested to Kiev, calling on the incumbent authorities to stop the crackdown on media.
Harlem Desir, the representative on freedom of the media at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), has also expressed his concern over Ukraine's actions toward Vyshinsky and called for the journalist's release. Commenting on the situation, OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger has said that all OSCE member states should comply with international standards and avoid interfering in the media's work.
