MOSCOW, May 21 (RIA Novosti) – A petition posted to the White House website on Wednesday is calling on US authorities to assist in the release of LifeNews journalists detained last week by the Ukrainian National Guard near the eastern city of Kramatorsk.
“We claim US government use all attemptions to release Russian journalists, who's been captured in Ukraine!” the text of the petition reads.
Two LifeNews journalists Oleg Sidyakin and Marat Saichenko were detained by the Ukrainian army on May 18 and accused of assisting terrorism in the region.
“They were unearthly framed in terrorism, though they are officially arrived in Ukraine as members of Russian mediaholding known as Lifenews,” the petition adds.
News Media Holding, which owns LifeNews, has asked Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to help secure the release of the detained journalists. Lavrov condemned the cruel treatment of the Russian reporters and demanded their immediate release. The Russian parliament is expected to make a statement on the issue later on Wednesday.
“Videos, which show us shocking torments of journalists, who've been tortured by Ukrainian soldiers. They are kept tied, beaten and with sacks on their heads. This is really shocks,” the authors of the petition stressed.
At least 100,000 people must sign the petition before it would be considered by US authorities. However, as previous petitions have shown, the White House by no means always takes similar addresses seriously.
