Poroshenko calls on Red Cross to protect rights of political prisoners in Russia

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko calls for the intensification of the Red Cross’s activities to protect the rights of Ukrainians imprisoned in Russia and temporarily occupied territories.

He wrote this on his Facebook page.

Poroshenko noted that the International Committee of the Red Cross played an important role in coordinating the issue on release of Ukrainian political prisoners and hostages.

"With Princess Sofia, who heads the Red Cross of Liechtenstein, we agreed that she will raise in Geneva the issue of the intensification of the Red Cross’s work to protect the rights of imprisoned Ukrainians in Russia and temporarily occupied territories," the president said.

In his opinion, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross should be given an opportunity to visit our hostages and to provide humanitarian assistance.

The president recalled that the day before he instructed Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada Liudmyla Denisova to intensify cooperation with the Red Cross and personally visit Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia's prisons and in the occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea.

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