Russian ombudswoman Tatiana Moskalkova raised concerns on Wednesday over the safety of RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky after he is transferred to a prison in Kiev
GENEVA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th March, 2019) Russian ombudswoman Tatiana Moskalkova raised concerns on Wednesday over the safety of RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky after he is transferred to a prison in Kiev.The 52-year-old has been in custody in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson since last May on charges of high treason and supporting the independence bid of two eastern breakaway regions, which he has denied.
"His transfer to Kiev will begin on March 9. He will probably be taken to Lukianivska detention center. He needs to be guaranteed safety because some inmates are right-wing extremists and there might be provocations," Moskalkova said.
She added she planned to ask Ukraine's human rights commissioner and national prison authorities to take measures. She said the death of a Russian national, Valery Ivanov, in custody in Ukraine's Lviv region had not been properly investigated.
Earlier in the day, a Kherson appeals court dismissed a challenge to a Khreson city court's decision to extend Vyshinsky's arrest until April 8. The journalist faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Ukrainian prosecutors have now filed indictment with a Kiev court.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has described Vyshinsky's case as a politically motivated attack on a journalist doing his job. Harlem Desir, the representative on freedom of the media at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, has also expressed his concern over Ukraine's actions toward Vyshinsky and called for the journalist's release.
