The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) will continue to closely monitor the case of RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky, currently jailed in Ukraine, OSCE Secretary-General Thomas Greminger told Sputnik on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Moscow Conference on International Security
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th April, 2019) The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) will continue to closely monitor the case of RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky, currently jailed in Ukraine, OSCE Secretary-General Thomas Greminger told Sputnik on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Moscow Conference on International Security.Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Wednesday that the Kremlin did not believe that Vyshinsky's situation would change before the inauguration of Ukraine's president-elect, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
"[OSCE] Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir has been after the matter ... basically from the very beginning, and he will continue to do so. And he will closely follow the matter and intervene whenever it makes sense. And obviously we all hope now for positive developments," Greminger said.
Vyshinsky was detained in Kiev on May 15 on suspicion of treason and supporting the breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine. The journalist faces up to 15 years in prison.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Vyshinsky's arrest is politically motivated, and that the incident demonstrates an unprecedented and unacceptable policy of Ukrainian authorities targeting journalists doing their jobs. The Russian Foreign Ministry has protested the matter directly to Kiev, calling on the incumbent authorities to stop their crackdown on media.
Desir has previously expressed concern over Ukraine's actions toward Vyshinsky and called for the journalist's release. Greminger, in turn, has said that all OSCE member states should comply with international standards and avoid interfering in the media's work.
