Russian High Commissioner for Human Rights Tatiana Moskalkova said on Tuesday that she had met with Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatovic in Strasbourg to discuss the detention of RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky in Ukraine
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th March, 2019) Russian High Commissioner for Human Rights Tatiana Moskalkova said on Tuesday that she had met with Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatovic in Strasbourg to discuss the detention of RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky in Ukraine."We have discussed a wide range of issues of protecting the rights of Russian citizens abroad. Including the problems of protecting the rights of journalist Kirill Vyshinsky in Ukraine as well as of Alexander Vinnik, who is held in custody in Greece. In addition, we have discussed global issues of human rights protection in the context of information technology development, protecting the rights of journalists, ensuring the freedom of speech," Moskalkova wrote on Instagram.
The Russian ombudswoman has briefed Mijatovic on Russia's best domestic practices on protecting the rights of citizens.
"Dunja Mijatovic, in turn, has asked me a series of individual questions about the fate of people and how human rights issues are developing today as a whole. It seems to me that this conversation can be an impetus for a very serious development of relations between human rights mechanisms in Russia and the Council of Europe's human rights mechanisms," Moskalkova underlined.
Vyshinsky was detained in Kiev on May 15, 2018, 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. The Kherson Appeals Court in Ukraine has rejected an appeal by Vyshinsky's defense regarding the illegality of extending the journalist's arrest until April 8. Earlier on Tuesday, Vyshinsky's lawyer Andriy Domansky told Sputnik that Vyshinsky had been transferred to the Podolsky district court in Kiev, where a preparatory hearing in his case would be held.
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.
Vinnik was detained in Greece in July 2017 at the request of US authorities on various charges, including laundering $4 billion through bitcoin cryptocurrency exchange BTC-E, allegedly headed by him. The Russian national has denied the accusations. Russia, where he is wanted for separate fraud charges, and France also seek his extradition.
Meanwhile, the Greek authorities are still keeping Vinnik in custody for more than 18 months without bringing him to trial, which is a violation of the country's constitution. Since November 26, 2018, Vinnik has been on a hunger strike in protest of his rights violations. In late February, he was transferred to a specialized clinic over health issues caused by the months-long hunger strike.
