Austrian authorities ask to clarify circumstances of detention of ORF broadcaster's operator in Ukraine

The editorial board of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) expressed a strong protest against the arrest and several-day detention of the television channel's operator by the Ukrainian authorities, a statement on the APA-OPS agency website says.

"We demand from the Ukrainian authorities the immediate release of the ORF operator and an explanation of the reasons for his detention. The operator is 53 years old, in 2022 he was a volunteer in the war and was injured during hostilities for Ukraine," the statement says.

According to ORF, operator Andriy Neposedov, on behalf of the correspondent in Ukraine Christian Wehrschütz, was heading to the Ternopil region for filming.

"During a routine road check, he was stopped by the police. Then the Ukrainian army officer present there demanded to see his documents and asked Neposedov to go with him to the office. There, our cameraman was first detained, and then taken to the police station in Ternopil. He is being held there against his will and without explanation. He was not allowed to call either his wife, who was traveling with him in the car as an assistant, or his lawyer. Only after more than two days did this become possible by phone," the statement reads.

ORF correspondents expressed gratitude to Austrian Foreign Ministry in Vienna and the Austrian Embassy in Kyiv for the efforts made in negotiations with the Ukrainian authorities. "Ukraine aspires to join the EU and is therefore obliged to adhere to European standards regarding personal safety and media freedom," the editorial said.

According to Detector Media, the Austrian Foreign Ministry said the embassy in Kyiv took measures immediately after the arrest and appealed to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry with a request to clarify the circumstances.

"Austria calls for compliance with the rule of law. However, since this is a citizen of Ukraine, the embassy's ability to provide support is very limited," the Austrian ministry said.

It is noted that Russian propaganda media are actively spreading reports about the detention of the operator in Ukraine.