Mykhailo Tkach and Yaroslav Bondarenko released in Vienna

Ukrainian journalists Mykhailo Tkach and Yaroslav Bondarenko have been released after their October 8 detention in Vienna, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on October 9.

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the detentions concerned suspected espionage. However, Vienna prosecutor’s spokesperson Nina Bussek said suspicions against the two journalists had not been substantiated during the investigation, Kronen Zeitung and RIA Novosti reported.

Ukrainska Pravda editor Sevgil Musayeva earlier said Tkach was released around 4 a.m. local time, or 5 a.m. in Moscow, after approximately 12 hours in custody. Bondarenko’s status was still being clarified at that stage. CPJ’s later statement confirms that both journalists are now free.

The two men were on a reporting assignment in Austria. According to the accounts carried by Kronen Zeitung and RIA Novosti, they were investigating former Ukrainian prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko. Their professional assignment is separate from the suspicion that prompted their detention.

CPJ called on Austrian authorities to explain the detentions and their treatment of the journalists. The organization welcomed their release while maintaining its request for an account of the events.

Karner also said two other Ukrainians remained in custody. Kronen Zeitung identified them as employees of Ukraine’s Security Service. The reports distinguish those detainees from Tkach and Bondarenko, against whom the prosecutor’s spokesperson said the suspicions had not been substantiated.