Everything that is happening with RIA Novosti portal head Kirill Vyshinsky, who has been in Ukrainian custody since May 2018, is a manifestation of lawlessness in the country and shows how Kiev violates its commitments to protect media freedom, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th March, 2019) Everything that is happening with RIA Novosti portal head Kirill Vyshinsky, who has been in Ukrainian custody since May 2018, is a manifestation of lawlessness in the country and shows how Kiev violates its commitments to protect media freedom, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.
Last week, Vyshinsky's lawyer Andriy Domansky told Sputnik that the first hearing of the journalist's case would be held on March 26 in Kiev's district court.
"We do not distinguish [the Vyshinsky case] from other cases. I believe, that [the case] is just a symbol of the lawlessness and justification of this lawlessness in Ukraine ... We once again stress that the Kiev regime is directly and maliciously violating the current Ukrainian commitments in the field of media freedom," Zakharova said at a press briefing.
Vyshinsky was detained in Kiev on May 15 on suspicion of supporting the breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine and treason. The journalist could face up to 15 years in prison with these charges. Earlier in March, the Kherson Appeals Court in Ukraine rejected an appeal by Vyshinsky's defense regarding the illegality of extending the journalist's arrest until April 8.
Russian President Vladimir 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 media's work.
