Ukrainian Journalist Tkach Says He Was Detained In Vienna“Like A Terrorist”

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) As reported by Ukrinform, this was stated by Mykhailo Tkach, head of the investigative journalism department at Ukrainska Pravda, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda.

“From the way I experienced it, we were detained like terrorists. They did not communicate with us at all. There were these shocking screams, they were all shouting and pointing weapons at us, and there was simply no communication,” the journalist said.

According to Tkach, he and Bondarenko were traveling from one filming location to another. About 3–5 kilometers from central Vienna, their car stopped at a traffic light. At that moment, seven armed masked men ran up to the vehicle. They smashed the windows and pointed their weapons at the journalists.

Tkach added that he immediately raised his hand and said in English that he was a journalist. He and Bondarenko were pulled out of the car, thrown face down onto the road, searched and had their hands restrained behind their backs with tape.

“I kept repeating that I was a journalist. Instead, one of these men put his knee on my neck and shouted at me to be quiet. Then they dragged me away. There was an archway nearby, and they pulled me under it, made me face the wall again and told me to keep quiet,” he said.

According to Tkach, he was detained by masked men who did not identify themselves or explain their actions. The journalist did not see any identification and did not notice the word“police,” so for the first 30–40 minutes he believed that he and Bondarenko were being abducted.

The journalist realized that they were police only after he was taken out from under the archway and saw police vehicles. He was placed in a separate compartment of a van and driven for about 20 minutes with the sirens on.

Tkach said that he had not seen Bondarenko since the moment of his detention. At the same time, the journalist saw the shattered glass from the car window fly into the cameraman's face.

At the police facility, Tkach had all his belongings taken away, was ordered to remove his shoes and was placed in a solitary cell. According to him, he waited there for about two hours without any explanation, although he repeatedly asked police officers why he had been detained. During that time, a doctor examined him and asked about his condition.

Later, Tkach was taken to another room and ordered to strip completely, after which his clothes were taken away. His belongings were later returned, and the journalist was weighed and measured.

The journalist was also asked to sign a document in German. He refused, explaining that he did not understand what was written. According to Tkach, the police officer became angry and started shouting in response.

He was then taken to two people whom he believed to be investigators. Only then, according to the journalist, did a substantive conversation begin.

Read also: Ukrainian journalist Tkach freed after detention in Vienna – MFA

Ukrainska Pravda added that Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said Tkach had been released after being detained in Vienna, while cameraman Bondarenko remained in custody. The minister said the Ukrainians had been detained on suspicion of espionage.

The journalist was released at 4:00 on Friday after spending 12 hours in custody. The cameraman, who was detained together with Tkach, was injured during the detention and“was in hospital.” Bondarenko's questioning only began overnight.

As reported by the media, Mykhailo Tkach, head of the investigative journalism department at Ukrainska Pravda, was detained in Vienna while carrying out an editorial assignment related to locating fugitive Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

Photo: facebook/mixailotkach

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