Lawyer For RIA Journalist Vyshinsky Appeals Pre-Trial Detention

Lawyer for RIA Journalist Vyshinsky Appeals Pre-Trial Detention

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2019) The defense team of RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky has filed a challenge with a Ukrainian appeals court against a lower court's ruling to extend his detention, a lawyer has told Sputnik.

"We have already mailed it. We expect it [to be heard] in early February," Andriy Domansky said on Sunday.

Vyshinsky was detained in Kiev last May on charges of high treason and supporting the bid for independence by two breakaway regions, which carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail. A court in the southern city of Kherson has upheld his detention until February 16.

The attorney added he was going to file a complaint against two searches in his own house, which he called a "vendetta."

"I will challenge what they [Prosecutor General's Office] did. I will take action within the law. I can defend my rights... in European courts, if need be," Domansky said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the case politically motivated. Harlem Desir, representative on media freedom at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, has called for Vyshinsky's release.