MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The international human rights watchdogs should focus on the growing mistreatment of journalists in Ukraine after Kiev has tried to recruit RIA Novosti correspondent, member of the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Alexander Brod told Sputnik on Saturday.

“I think that the international human rights organizations should understand that Ukraine right now is perhaps one of the most unfavorable places in Europe, where a total violation of the rights of journalists, human rights defenders and political opposition take places,” Brod said.

The council’s calls were joined by Dmitry Gornostaev, the deputy editor-in-chief of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency.

“We support and will do everything to protect Irina Vysokovich, who courageously came forward with the fact of an attempt at her recruitment. We urge all journalists and the international community to support Irina, to show solidarity in upholding the fundamental rights of any democratic state — the right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press, the right to work without the pressure of special services, without intimidation and so-called preventive interviews, conducted by the people from special services, who are dressed in civilian clothes without names and surnames,” Gornostaev underlined.

Earlier in the day, RIA Novosti correspondent Irina Vysokovich, a Ukrainian citizen, said that the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) tried to recruit her, forcing to sign a document on her readiness to cooperate with the security service and leak information about the employees of the media outlet.

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On May 15, SBU broke into the office of RIA Novosti Ukraine in Kiev. Kirill Vyshinsky, the head of the portal, was detained on suspicion of supporting the self-proclaimed people’s republics of Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR), and treason. On May 17, a court in the Ukrainian city of Kherson ruled to arrest Vyshinsky for 60 days without bail.

The Russian Foreign Ministry classified Kiev's actions against RIA Novosti Ukraine as an "outrage." Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the actions of the Ukrainian authorities with respect to RIA Novosti Ukraine journalists were unacceptable, while the Russian Embassy has delivered two protest notes to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry urging to stop violence against media workers.