The spokesperson for the self-defense activists in Slavyanks said that the observer was released on medical grounds. "He has a mild form of diabetes and so we decided to let him go," she told reporters.
Slavyansk self-defense presents detained OSCE team to media
Self-defense activists in Ukraine's eastern town of Slavyansk on Sunday presented the eight detained European members of an international OSCE military observer mission to a news conference. The eight men, all apparently unhurt, were led into the main room of Slavyansk's town hall occupied by the anti-Maidan movement, where around 60 journalists were assembled, AFP reports.
At a news conference organized by the self-defense forces, a German member of the observer mission, Colonel Axel Schneider, told reporters he had "not been touched," and that there had been no physical mistreatment of the group.
"All the European officers are in good health and no one is sick," Reuters reports.
OSCE sending team to Slavyansk to seek release of military observers
The OSCE said Sunday that a team of negotiators is heading to Slavyansk in eastern Ukraine to try and secure the release of eight military monitors held by self-defense forces. "They are expected to be in the region Sunday," Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe spokesperson Tatyana Baeva said.
"We hope to be able to provide more information once they arrive and when they start talking, if they start talking," she said, AFP reports.
She was unable to say how many negotiators were heading to the flashpoint eastern town, where the four Germans, one Pole, one Czech, one Swede and one Dane were detained on Friday together with five Ukrainians.
The negotiators being sent form part of a separate, 100-strong special monitoring mission by the Vienna-based pan-European security body who are already on the ground in Ukraine.
Russia, a member of the OSCE, pledged Saturday to "take all possible" steps to secure their release.
OSCE observers report false purpose of visit – Slavyansk people's mayor
The European military observers detained by self-defense forces in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk were not who they claimed to be and reported a false purpose of the visit, Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the people’s mayor of Slavyansk, said on Saturday, April 26. The detainees said they "have come on a sightseeing tour" but had a map marking the militia’s positions, he said.
"When they asked about the purpose of their visit, they said they had come for a sightseeing tour. In other words, they gave false information from the very beginning," Ponomarev said, adding that they had a map indicating the militia’s positions.
"Let me tell you that the map alone would be enough to speak about spying," he said.
"The military were on our territory without our permission and were detained of course," he said.
"What we should do with them we will know after we have determined who they are and what brought them here,” Ponomarev said, adding that the detainees were being held in "normal conditions". "One of the military officials has diabetes, but we have necessary medications and food (for him)."
Ponomarev said the supporters of federalisation were ready to exchange the detained military for their comrades being held by the Kiev authorities.
"The Kiev junta is holding our comrades. But we are ready for an exchange if there is such a chance," he said.
Yevgeny Gorbik, a spokesperson for the supporters of federalization, told reporters that the detained military observers had been engaged in intelligence activities, TASS reports.
"The humanitarian group of the (OSCE) mission has denied any relation to them…
They (observers) had intelligence agents, cryptograms, and notebooks with secret notes", Gorbik said. "A Bulgarian officer had a notebook with notes in Russian which confirm his intelligence activities and speak of a meeting with agents," he added.
"No charges have been brought against them so far. But they’ve ended up in a company that calls into question the legitimacy of their activities," Gorbik said, adding, "The investigation is underway to find out what they were doing and where."
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