Kyiv once again demands Ukrainians held, convicted in Russia freed
KYIV. Feb 19 (Interfax) - The consul of the Russian embassy to Ukraine was summoned to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Friday to be presented with a note of protest demanding that Russia stop violating the rights of Ukrainian citizens held and convicted in Russia.
"Russia has been informed of our deep concern about the continuation of the judicial farce in the case of Nadiya Savchenko and the application of torture against the illegally convicted Ukrainian citizen Hennadiy Afanasyev and the groundless toughening of the conditions in which he is being held, which has significantly deteriorated his health. A protest has been presented to Russia on the unacceptability of violating the right of Ukrainian consular officials to have access to Ukrainian citizens being held illegally, as is stipulated by Article 13 of the Ukrainian-Russian Consular Convention, which made it impossible for a long time to visit Mykola Karpyuk, Stanislav Klykh, Hennadiy Afanasyev, Yury Soloshenko, and Oleksandr Kostenko," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in rendering the note's essence.
The Foreign Ministry suggested that it sees the fact that Russia is obstructing contacts between Ukrainian consular officials and Ukrainian citizens being held illegally as aimed at "deliberately concealing facts of gross violations of their rights by Russian government bodies."
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also demanded that Russia immediately take exhaustive measures to restore the rights of Ukrainian citizens who are being illegally held and who have been convicted in Russian territory and to immediately free them.
