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Ukrainian court extends arrest of Russian journalist until February 16

The court thus upheld the prosecution’s request and denied a defense request to release RIA Novosti Ukraine news outlet’s chief editor Kirill Vyshinsky on bail

Kirill Vyshinsky AP Photo/Victor Platov

Kirill Vyshinsky

© AP Photo/Victor Platov

KIEV, January 17. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Kherson City Court has extended the arrest of the RIA Novosti Ukraine news outlet’s chief editor Kirill Vyshinsky until February 16, defense attorney Igor Mokin told TASS.

"The court has extended his arrest until February 16, 2019," he said.

The court thus upheld the prosecution’s request and denied a defense request to release Vyshinsky on bail.

On January 14, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office said it had concluded a pre-trial investigation of the case and provided access to the case files to the defense. The prosecution added that a Kiev court would consider Vyshinsky’s case once the journalist was brought to the capital from a Kherson pre-trial detention center.

Vyshinsky case

On May 15, 2018, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) carried out a large-scale operation against RIA Novosti Ukraine staff members, accusing them of high treason. The news outlet’s Chief Editor Kirill Vyshinsky was arrested. The SBU issued a statement claiming that "a network of media structures, which Moscow used for carrying out a hybrid war" against Kiev had been exposed.

Charges against Vyshinsky are particularly based on a number of the journalist’s articles dedicated to the 2014 events in Crimea. If found guilty, the journalist may face up to 15 years. However, he pleaded not guilty.

Vyshinsky, originally a Ukrainian national, obtained Russian citizenship in 2015. He addressed Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko from the courtroom, renouncing his Ukrainian citizenship and saying he considered himself to be only a Russian national. He also addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking for legal assistance in his release.

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