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Vyshinsky thanks Russian, Ukrainian human rights commissioners for helping to release him

Vyshinsky added that the charges against him have not yet been dropped, and he would attend court sessions to prove his innocence

Kirill Vyshinsky Andrei Ivolgin/TASS

Kirill Vyshinsky

© Andrei Ivolgin/TASS

MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. RIA Novosti Ukraine Editor-in-chief Kirill Vyshinsky, who was released from detention in Kiev on Wednesday, thanked the human rights commissioners of Russia and Ukraine for defending his constitutional rights.

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"And, undoubtedly, I'm grateful to the two people who ensured the protection of my constitutional rights - Tatyana Nikolayevna Moskalkova, the Russian commissioner for Human Rights, and Lyudmila Leontyevna Denisova [the human rights commissioner of the Ukrainian parliament, Verkhovna Rada - TASS]. I believe thanks to their efforts my rights were translated into practical deeds and, eventually, I walked free today," he said during the ’60 minutes’ TV show on the Rossiya-1 TV channel.

Vyshinsky added that the charges against him have not yet been dropped, and he would attend court sessions "to prove my innocence in a judicial process."

"This is why - as I’m going to prove my innocence in court rather than evade responsibility in any way, including through an exchange - I would never agree to leave for any country without a court ruling, without undergoing the entire process of a judicial examination, because I’m firmly convinced that if a judicial process is fair and no political pressure is exerted, my total innocence will be proven," he said.

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 behind bars.

A court in Kiev released Vyshinsky on his own recognizance on August 28. The court ruled that the journalist is obliged to report to court upon demand, refrain from contacting witnesses in this case and notify the court about any changes concerning his place of residence and work. However, the journalist’s passport will be kept at the prosecutor’s office. Vyshinsky’s defense attorneys plan to request the return of his ID.

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