Both men were taken by the “self-defence” fighters at around 8 p.m. today near the Center of Journalist Investigation office in Simferopol.
Mokrushyn and Melnykov were kept at the “self-defence headquarters” located in the former office of the Communist Party.
The “self-defence” accused the journalists of defamation against the honor and dignity of Russian top officials.
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Later, the men were taken out of the “self-defence headquarters”, put in a car and delivered to the police station.
According to Valentyna Samar, Editor in Chief of the Center, the local police officers told her that the journalists were arrested for “hooligan actions” but refused to tell their names or items of the law that justified the arrest, nor did they show her the protocol of the arrest.
According to Valentyna, Mokrushyn told her that he was beaten in the liver area, that he could barely speak and had a hard time breathing.
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Both men had swallowed arms with traces of handcuffs, she said.
The journalists have been taken to the central police department of Simferopol.
Also, on June 2, chief editors of the Vechirniy Donetsk (Evening Donetsk) and Donbas, as well as one of their deputies, were kidnapped and taken in an unknown direction by terrorists, but released later. The journalists claim that the militants are unhappy about the fact that the newspapers inaccurately describe the Donbas realm. Also, the journalists were accused of not covering developments in the Donetsk People’s Republic well enough.
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According to later reports, both newspapers suspended their work.
