In Vienna, the detention of Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach was explained
Kyiv • UNN
Mykhailo Tkach and cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko were detained because they were observing a location controlled by individuals suspected of espionage. The detention was not related to their professional activities.
UP journalist Mykhailo Tkach and cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko were detained in Vienna because they were spotted surveilling a location that was also being monitored by two men suspected of espionage, not because of their professional activities. Reuters reports this, citing the prosecutor’s office of the Austrian capital, UNN reports.
Details
It is noted that during the investigation into the case involving the first two men, suspicions arose regarding a third person—apparently Tkach was meant, but the prosecutor’s office did not name anyone.
These suspicions were based, among other things, on eyewitness testimony indicating that the three men had been seen surveilling the same location, as well as on the fact that the surveillance took place during the same period and was carried out in the same manner
It is indicated that this led prosecutors to assume that the three Ukrainians belonged to the same group, after which an arrest warrant was issued for the third man. A fourth man—apparently Bondarenko—was in the same car when police discovered him, and both men were detained.
"At the time of the arrests, it was not known that the suspects were a Ukrainian investigative journalist and a cameraman. The arrests were in no way connected with the professional activities of these two men," the agency said.
Background
The detention in Vienna of Mykhailo Tkach, head of UP’s investigations department, was reported late in the evening of October 8. He was subsequently released from custody.