Russia Hopes West To Call On Kiev To Stop Arbitrary Actions Against Vyshinsky - Official

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published December 19, 2018 | 06:09 PM

Russia hopes that Western countries will demand from Kiev to stop arbitrary actions toward RIA Novosti Ukraine web portal head Kirill Vyshinsky, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said in an interview with Sputnik.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th December, 2018) Russia hopes that Western countries will demand from Kiev to stop arbitrary actions toward RIA Novosti Ukraine web portal head Kirill Vyshinsky, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said in an interview with Sputnik.

"We hope that our international partners will demonstrate their commitment to democratic values and free press as well as demand from Kiev to stop arbitrariness against Kirill Vyshinsky. As it was done, for example, by the European Federation of Journalists," Karasin said.

According to Karasin, the head of RIA Novosti Ukraine was arrested for his professional activities and not for terrorism.

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 the 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.