Red Cross Visited Vyshinsky, Monitors Journalist's Health - Russian Ombudswoman

ATHENS (Sputnik) – Representatives of the Red Cross have visited RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky, who is in custody in Ukraine, and are monitoring his condition, Russian ombudswoman Tatiana Moskalkova has stated.

"I received a response from the Red Cross that said that they visited [Vyshinsky] and are monitoring him. And I am very pleased with this answer that international organisations have joined us in order to monitor his health", Moskalkova said during talks with her Ukrainian counterpart, Lyudmyla Denisova, in Athens.

Vyshinsky, who turned 52 on 19 February, was detained in Kiev in May last year, on suspicion of treason and support for the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics. Earlier in February, the Kherson city court extended the journalist's arrest until 8 April.

READ MORE: Russian Investigators Launch Criminal Case Against Vyshinsky's Prosecutor

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vyshinsky's arrest is politically motivated and demonstrates Ukrainian authorities' unacceptable policy, aimed at targeting journalists who are just doing their jobs.

Representative on Freedom of the Media of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Harlem Desir has expressed his concern over Ukraine's actions toward Vyshinsky and called for the journalist's release, stressing that all OSCE members had pledged to create the necessary conditions to allow journalists to work freely.