MOSCOW, May 19 (RAPSI) - In a letter to Arsen Avakov, appointed Interior Minister after the regime change in Ukraine, the OSCE requested the release of the LifeNews journalists that were detained by the National Guard of Ukraine and called for a thorough investigation of the incident, according to a statement by the OSCE Press Service obtained by RIA Novosti.

It was reported earlier that LifeNews journalists, Oleg Sidyakin and Marat Saichenko, were detained by the National Guard near Kramatorsk, the Donetsk Region. News Media management addressed the Russian Foreign Minister for assistance in their release. Sergey Lavrov urged the OSCE to take the necessary action for the liberation of the Russian journalists.

In a letter to Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, Dunja Mijatovic (OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media) expressed her concern and requested that the officials release the journalists and make an inquiry into the incident.

Mijatovic addressed both parties in the conflict urging them to stop threatening media representatives and let them do their job.

She said in her letter to the Ukrainian Interior Minister that all the political leaders involved in resolving the crisis in Ukraine must clearly understand that violation of media freedom is unacceptable.

The Ukrainian authorities are conducting a special operation with the regular army in southeastern Ukraine, where pro-federalization demonstrations erupted in March.
Moscow has repeatedly urged Kiev to ensure the safety of journalists working in the region. The latest incident involving a journalist was on May 9, when a freelance journalist working for the RT television channel received a gunshot wound in the stomach while filming the fighting in Mariupol.