Ukrainian journalist Pavlo Sharoiko, who is being kept under detention in Minsk, should be released as soon as possible, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli says.
“It’s really a pity. We hope that this journalist will be released as soon as possible,” Mingarelli told Ukrinform.
As reported earlier, UA: Ukrainian Radio employee Pavlo Sharoiko was arrested in Minsk in late October.
According to the KGB spokesman Dzmitry Pabyarzhyn, Sharoiko, an officer of Ukraine’s military intelligence, worked undercover as a radio correspondent and created a spy network of the citizens of Belarus. Sharoiko’s work was coordinated by Ihor Skvortsov, who ‘acted under the guise of the Ukrainian embassy counselor in Belarus’, Pabyarzhyn said. Skvortsov was declared persona non grata and expelled from Belarus.
In late November, Sharoiko was accused of espionage.
Ukrainian government agencies have repeatedly refuted the claim by the KGB of the alleged involvement of Pavlo Sharoiko in espionage and his being an intelligence officer.
