Committee to Protect Journalists urges Austrian authorities to explain detention of UP journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urged Austrian authorities to urgently explain why Mykhailo Tkach, head of investigative journalism at Ukrainska Pravda, and cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko were forcefully detained in Vienna on Thursday.

Source: CPJ

Details: Fiona O'Brien, CPJ's regional director for Europe and Central Asia, said there is a lack of transparency regarding the detention.

Quote: "It is shocking to hear of two journalists being detained in such an aggressive manner in a European capital city, and with so little transparency as to why they were held for so long and questioned. While we are relieved to see that both Mykhailo Tkach and Yaroslav Bondarenko have now been released, we call on the Austrian authorities to provide a full explanation as to why they were treated this way."

More details: CPJ contacted Austrian prosecutors for comment, but has not yet received a response.

Background:

• On 8 October, it was reported that Tkach had been detained in Vienna while carrying out an assignment from the editorial team involving tracking down the fugitive former prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko.
• Tkach was in Austria with his colleague Yaroslav Bondarenko.
• It later emerged that the Ukrainian consul had been granted access to Tkach and had spoken with him.
• On 9 October, Ukrainska Pravda Editor-in-Chief Sevğil Musaieva reported that Tkach had been released after being detained in Vienna, but the editorial team was unable to contact him, and that cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko was injured during the detention.
• Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner stated that Tkach was released following his detention in Vienna, but cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko remained in custody. The minister said the Ukrainians were detained on suspicion of espionage.
• Tkach said that armed masked men smashed the windows of his car and dragged him and Bondarenko out onto the road as they were arrested in Vienna. One of the men then knelt on Tkach's neck as he repeatedly insisted he was a journalist.
• The journalist also said that they were accused of three offences following their detention in Vienna: espionage on behalf of Ukrainian military intelligence, involvement in a criminal organisation and causing harm to Austria.

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