The detention in Kyiv of the editor-in-chief of the RIA Novosti Ukraine news agency, Kirill Vyshinsky, casts doubt on the existence of democratic freedoms in the country.
Pavel Rudyakov, director of the Perspektiva information and analytical center, told PolitNavigator about this.
“The events around RIA Novosti put on the agenda the question of whether we have freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and basic democratic freedoms today. From the list of materials that, as the SBU stated, were found during the search, it is clear that there is not only no reason for any talk about treason, but also about any offenses at all. St. George ribbons were found, but they are prohibited for wearing in public places, and even then, only administrative punishment is provided for this. And there they were just lying in the office, if this is still true,” said the political scientist.
“As for the Russian passport, this is a common practice for us. I think that among those SBU officers who conducted the search, at least two or three also have a second passport, and there is nothing to say about the deputies. I think that since the authorities have committed such serious arbitrariness, they do not intend to reduce it to a draw or make compromises. Everything that is happening is a huge scandal,” Rudyakov emphasized.