Trial Of RIA Novosti Ukraine Portal Head Vyshinsky Resembles Theater Of Absurd - Lavrov

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th July, 2019) The trial of RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky resembles the theater of the absurd, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

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

"The trial of [Vyshinsky] resembles the theater of the absurd. There is no doubt that the journalist was arrested illegally, he was arrested solely because he belonged to Russian media and transparently covered events [in Ukraine]," Lavrov said in an interview to the AiF newspaper.

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.