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Ukrainian Prosecutors: Pretrial Investigation Against Journo Vyshinsky Completed

KIEV (Sputnik) - The Ukrainian prosecutor's office announced the completion of the pretrial investigation of the criminal case against RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky.
Sputnik

"On Thursday, January 10, 2019… the head of RIA Novosti Ukraine and his defense were informed about the end of the pretrial investigation in the criminal proceedings [case], access to the materials of the pretrial investigation was granted," the office said.

Earlier in the day, an appeal court in the Ukrainian city of Kherson rejected Vyshinsky's request regarding his arrest extension.

READ MORE: Russia Demands Ukraine to Stop Legal Arbitrariness Toward Vyshinsky — Moscow

Vyshinsky was detained in Kiev on May 15 on suspicion of supporting the breakaway republics of Donbass and on treason charges. The maximum penalty for such offense is 15 years of imprisonment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Vyshinsky's arrest was politically motivated, adding that the incident demonstrated an unprecedented and unacceptable policy of Ukrainian authorities targeting journalists who were just doing their jobs.

On December 27, the Kherson city court extended Vyshinsky's detention until January 27. The defense asked the court to release Vyshinsky, with Domansky personally pledging for him.

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