KIEV, May 19 (RIA Novosti) – The deputy head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council has accused LifeNews journalists detained Sunday in eastern Ukraine of supporting terrorism in the region and announced that Ukrainian law enforcement officers are ready to draw the appropriate conclusions.
“The so-called LifeNews journalists Oleg Sidyakin and Marat Saichenko are a vivid example of how media support contributes to promoting terrorism. They are part of de facto terrorist groups,” Victoria Siumar said in a statement posted on her Facebook account.
“And the corresponding conclusions in relation to Sidyakin and Saichenko are now being prepared by Ukrainian law enforcement agencies,” she added.
The LifeNews journalists were detained by the Ukrainian National Guard near the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region on Sunday. News Media Holding, which owns LifeNews, has already requested the Russian foreign ministry assist in securing their release.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has urged the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to take all necessary measures to ensure the release of the journalists.
Konstantin Dolgov, Russian Foreign Ministry’s special representative for human rights, democracy and the rule of law, wrote on Monday via Twitter that “unlawful de facto arrests of journalists commissioned by the Ukrainian authorities should be stopped, as they gravely violate their obligations to ensure the freedom of the press.”
The Russian Embassy in Kiev said it sees a systematic manhunt for Russian journalists conducted by Ukrainian special forces as an infringement on the freedom of speech and called for an immediate release of the detained journalists.
Russia’s Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights has contacted Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Valeriya Lutkovskaya to shed light on the situation, Chairman of the Human Rights Council Mikhail Fedotov said.
