The OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] Chairman-in-Office, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, and OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid call for the immediate release of their four observers detained in the occupied Donbas.
“The detention of members of the SMM [Special Monitoring Mission] national mission members in [non-government controlled areas of] Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts is unacceptable, and we call for their immediate release,” Rau said. “They were taken for engaging in administrative activities that fall within their official functions as OSCE staff. They have been held without charge for a period of time now and the OSCE and their families have not been sufficiently informed of the situation.”
“I condemn the deplorable acts of intimidation, harassment, and hostile public rhetoric against the SMM and mission staff in non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. All of our national mission members remain OSCE officials and should be afforded functional immunity, including during this period when the mandate has lapsed,” Schmid said.
“Their work has been crucial in many areas, including maintaining contacts with relevant stakeholders and civil society, and facilitating localized ceasefires for vital infrastructure repair, directly helping to alleviate human suffering,” the statement declares.
For security reasons, the OSCE is not in a position to release any additional information.
The day before, on April 24, the OSCE reported that the russian military had detained the staff of its Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine in eastern Ukraine.