The arrest was reported by the website Ukrainska Pravda, where Tkacz heads the journalistic investigation department.
At the beginning of the interrogation, I was given a document to sign. From what I understand, it was the equivalent of a charging order. It listed three articles on the basis of which we were charged, Tkach told Ukrainska Pravda.
One of them concerned espionage for Ukrainian military intelligence. The second - participation in these activities, which was classified as participation in a criminal organization. The third article, if I remember correctly, was about harming Austria, he explained.
His cameraman, Jarosław Bondarenko, was detained together with the journalist. According to Ukrainska Pravda, he is still in custody.
Ukraine's diplomatic intervention was necessary for his release
Earlier, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner announced that four Ukrainians had been detained in his country on suspicion of espionage.
They are suspected of espionage. An investigation is ongoing, Karner told reporters. He added that two people were detained on Monday and two on Thursday. He refused to provide his personal details.
The Austria Presse Agentur (APA) agency reported that the spokeswoman of the Ukrainian embassy in Vienna announced that she was waiting for explanations from the Austrian authorities regarding the circumstances and legal basis of the detentions.
In the case of the two Ukrainians, a spokesman for the Austrian prosecutor's office told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that they were detained on the basis of "suspicions that have not been confirmed."
One has already been released and the other is to be released today, he said. He refused to say what the suspicions were or who the detainees were.
Condemnation of the detention of journalists
Bondarenko was injured during the arrest and taken to hospital. The police started questioning him only late at night, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Reporters Without Borders condemned the detention of the journalists and demanded that the Austrian authorities "completely clarify the facts and guarantee the protection of their materials and sources."
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it had received confirmation of Tkach's release and that it was cooperating with the Austrian authorities "to clarify the circumstances of the detention."
What is this about the dismissed prosecutor general?
On September 15, the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of Ukraine decided to dismiss Ruslan Kravchenko from the position of prosecutor general. Even before the vote, Kravchenko submitted a request for resignation in connection with the investigation of the anti-corruption bodies NABU and SAP as part of Operation Carthage, concerning the activities of fraudulent call centers.
According to investigators, a group of employees of the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine was supposed to provide "protection" to call centers and legalize the funds obtained. On September 6, Kravchenko denied the allegations, and on September 14 he left Ukraine.
