OSCE Representative on Freedom of Media once again calls for release of Roman Sushchenko

On the anniversary of the illegal imprisonment of Ukrinform’s correspondent Roman Sushchenko, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir once again called on the Russian authorities to release the journalist from prison.

The OSCE representative wrote this on Twitter on Tuesday, June 4.

“It's been 1 year today that Ukrainian journalist Roman Sushchenko of Ukrinform has been sentenced to 12 years in jail in Russia. I reiterate my call on the authorities to free him and will tirelessly continue to work for his release,” Désir wrote.

As reported, Ukrinform's Paris-based correspondent Roman Sushchenko was illegally detained on September 30, 2016 in Moscow, where he arrived on a private trip. On October 7, 2016, he was charged with "espionage." Russia's FSB said that Sushchenko is a member of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. The latter denied this allegation.

On June 4, 2018, the Moscow City Court sentenced Sushchenko to 12 years in a high-security penal colony. The Supreme Court of Russia upheld the verdict on September 12.

On November 7, the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) informed Ukraine's Embassy in Moscow that Sushchenko had been transferred to Penal Colony No. 11 of the FSIN directorate for the Kirov region (the town of Kirovo-Chepetsk, the village of Utrobino).

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