Four Ukrainians were arrested in Vienna this week on suspicion of carrying out espionage, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said today, while the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda announced that two of its journalists were among those arrested.
Karner said that three remain in custody, declining to give further details because the investigation is ongoing.
The Austrian news agency APA reported that a spokesperson for the Ukrainian embassy in Vienna said the embassy is awaiting an explanation from the Austrian authorities regarding the consequences and legal grounds for the arrests. The embassy did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment.
Journalist arrested in Vienna released
As reported by the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA), Ukrainska Pravda editor-in-chief Sevgil Musaieva said in a Facebook post that investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach was released after more than 12 hours in custody on Thursday in Vienna.
“However, his communication devices have not been returned, so the editorial team is currently unable to contact him directly,” she said.
She also said that cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko was injured while in custody.
“At this time, we do not know the status of the proceedings for the two journalists,” she added.
The Austrian magazine Profil reported that Bondarenko will be released soon, citing a spokesperson for the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office.
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It also reported that the two other men, who were arrested on Monday, are suspected of spying for a Ukrainian intelligence service and remain in custody while the investigation continues.
