Russian presidential press officer Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that a letter written by a child of Ukrainian journalist Roman Suschenko arrested in Russia has been forwarded to the Kremlin.
“It’s true that a letter written by a child has been forwarded, but this absolutely does not change the essence of the charges against Mr. Suschenko. And they are related to his activities aimed against our state,” Peskov told reporters on May 22.
Media reported earlier that Suschenko’s nine-year-old son had written a letter to the Russian president, asking him to facilitate his father’s return home. A copy of the letter was published by the journalist’s lawyer on Facebook.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on October 3, 2016 that the Ukrainian had been arrested on espionage charges. The FSB said Suschenko had worked for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s main intelligence directorate in the rank of a colonel.
Suschenko was charged with espionage and pleaded not guilty. His lawyer Mark Feygin said his client was charged with several counts of espionage.
Suschenko, who had lived in France for six years working as a Paris correspondent for Ukrinform agency, had repeatedly visited Russia, and at the time of his arrest was there for personal reasons: he has relatives in Russia, Feygin said.
Kyiv called Suschenko’s arrest a provocation and the espionage charges fabricated.
