Journalist Vyshinsky's Lawyer Says Feeling Political Pressure

Lawyer Andriy Domansky, who represents the interests of RIA Novosti Ukraine web portal head Kirill Vyshinsky, told Sputnik on Monday that he was under political pressure.

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th December, 2018) Lawyer Andriy Domansky, who represents the interests of RIA Novosti Ukraine web portal head Kirill Vyshinsky, told Sputnik on Monday that he was under political pressure.

"I am constantly under political pressure. There is a certain pressure from society as well," Domansky said.

The lawyer also added that some even had connected him with the Russian secret services.

"Some people try to accuse me of allegedly representing the interests of only those journalists, who are connected with Russia. That is not the case at all. Among my clients are journalists with right-wing views, to whom everything Russian is alien," he said.

Vyshinsky was detained in Kiev on May 15 on suspicion of supporting the breakaway republics of Donbas and treason. Given the charges, the journalist may face up to 15 years in prison. The journalist has suggested that his arrest was a part of the Ukrainian authorities' campaign to gain the voter support ahead of the 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Vyshinsky's detention has prompted widespread criticism by journalists' rights groups, which have said that such actions were unacceptable in a democratic society.

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 its 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, stressing that all OSCE members had pledged to create the necessary conditions to allow journalists to work freely.

A number of EU member states, including Germany and Portugal, have also condemned Kiev's actions. On November 1, a Ukrainian court extended Vyshinsky's arrest until December 28.