Vyshinsky Legal Defense Says Has No Information About His Meeting With Russian Ombudswoman

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th August, 2019) Legal defense of RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky, who is jailed in Ukraine, has no information about his reported meeting with Russian ombudswoman Tatiana Moskalkova, the journalist's lawyer, Andriy Domansky, told Sputnik.

On Friday, Ukraine's Vesti media outlet reported that Moskalkova had met Vyshinsky to convince him of agreeing on a prisoner swap, an option that has been repeatedly rejected by the journalist.

"I can neither prove, nor refute [the reports] as I have no information on that. The ombudswoman's office has not established contacts with me," Domansky said on late Friday.

Commenting on the reports about Moskalkova's attempts to persuade Vyshinsky of the prisoner swap, the lawyer pointed out that the Ukrainian authorities were trying to make the journalist admit guilt in exchange for an opportunity to be returned to Russia after that.

Vyshinsky was detained in Kiev 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 faces is 15 years in prison.

Russia 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, has also expressed his concern over Ukraine's actions toward Vyshinsky and called for the journalist's release.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in July that Kiev was ready to exchange Vyshinsky for Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, jailed in Russia for plotting terrorist attacks.�