MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Council of Europe said on Wednesday its Platform for the Protection of Journalists has registered an alert on Ukraine following the detention of a RIA Novosti Ukraine journalist in Kiev.
“The Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalists has today published an alert by its partner organizations European Federation of Journalists and International Federation of Journalists on the detention of RIA Novosti journalist Kyrylo Vyshinsky on treason allegations in Ukraine. His arrest came hours before raids by Ukrainian security service (SBU) at the news agency’s offices. The Council of Europe is concerned about the implications that repeated detentions of journalists may have for the situation with media freedom in Ukraine,” the statement read.
Head of RIA Novosti Ukraine news portal Kirill Vyshinsky was detained in Kiev on Tuesday. On the same day, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) broke into the office of RIA Novosti Ukraine in Kiev.
Following the arrest, Rossiya Segodnya Director General Dmitry Kiselev has demanded that the Ukrainian authorities free Vyshinsky immediately and end their persecution of the media.
At the same time, Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Sputnik news agency, has stated that she thought what was happening in Ukraine was Kiev’s “revenge” for the recently opened Crimea Bridge. She further noted that RIA Novosti Ukraine was not legally linked to Rossiya Segodnya, but was its media partner.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
