Mykhailo Tkach, head of the investigative journalism department at Ukrainska Pravda, said that after being detained in Vienna, he and cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko were accused under three articles: espionage in the interests of Ukrainian military intelligence, involvement in a criminal organisation, and causing harm to Austria.
The journalist said this in a video, Ukrainska Pravda reports .
According to Tkach, at the start of the interrogation he was asked to sign a document, which he described as the equivalent of a notice of suspicion. It listed three allegations: espionage in the interests of Ukrainian military intelligence, involvement in a criminal organisation, and causing harm to Austria.
“At the start of the interrogation I was asked to sign a document. As far as I understand, it is the equivalent of a notice of suspicion. And it set out three articles under which we are being accused,” the journalist said.
Tkach noted that during the interrogation law enforcement officers did not explain what these allegations were based on. He said he concluded that there was no evidence against him or the cameraman.
“We have, in fact, worked in Vienna many times, always in public places, and accordingly we were working on public figures—people about whom information is of public interest. So hearing such wording was a shock to me,” Tkach said.
The journalist called the detention “an extraordinary misunderstanding”. He also suggested the situation may have arisen because of information someone passed to Austrian law enforcement, possibly using manipulation.
The first part of the interrogation lasted about two hours. Later, the Ukrainian consul arrived, and Tkach told him about the detention. After speaking with the diplomat, the interrogation continued.
Tkach added that, in his view, the intervention of Ukrainian diplomats significantly affected the situation.
What Preceded This
- In Vienna, Mykhailo Tkach and Yaroslav Bondarenko were working on a piece about former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who left the country in September under the pretext of an official business trip and has still not returned. On the evening of 8 October, the Ukrainska Pravda newsroom reported the detention of its staff. Contact with them was lost. The newsroom called the detention unlawful.
- On the morning of 9 October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Mykhailo Tkach was released after being detained in Austria. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is clarifying the circumstances of the detention.