Everyone In Ukraine Understands That Vyshinsky's Case Merely Absurd - Zakharova

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2019) Everyone in Ukraine, except for extreme nationalists, understands that the case of RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky is merely absurd, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

On Monday, the Podolsky district court of Kiev postponed the court hearing until July 19.

"As for Kirill Vyshinsky ... it seems to me that except for extreme nationalists or people who use all possibilities to advance their political career... everyone else in Ukraine understands that this case is a farce, this [case] is absurd," Zakharova said in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda radio station on Monday.

Vyshinsky was detained on May 15, 2018, on suspicion of supporting the self-proclaimed republics in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and treason.

The harshest sentence the journalist might face is 15 years in prison.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that Vyshinsky's arrest is politically motivated and demonstrates the former Ukrainian authorities' unacceptable policy of targeting journalists.

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. In turn, the organization's secretary general, Thomas Greminger, has said that all OSCE member states should comply with international standards and avoid interfering in the media's work.