OSCE official jailed for ‘spying’ in Russian-held Ukraine

European security group slams sentencing of Vadym Golda for ‘reconnaissance activities’ used to direct missile strikes. The Supreme Court of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic sentenced Vadym Golda to 14 years in a penal colony on charges of gathering intelligence on industrial sites that was used to direct missile strikes in the region, said Russia’s prosecutor general on Friday, posting on Telegram. The Vienna-based OSCE condemned the verdict as a “grave violation of participating States’ commitments under international law”, calling for the immediate release of the 56-year-old and two other jailed officials from the organisation. OSCE Chair @MinisterIanBorg and OSCE Secretary General @HelgaSchmid_SG unequivocally condemn today’s “sentencing” of OSCE official Vadym Golda, call for the immediate release of all three detained OSCE officials, include Maxim Petrov and Dmytro Shabanovhttps://t.co/kMOH9oHpb4 — OSCE July 12, 2024 “I will not relent in my efforts and do everything possible to bring Vadym, Maxim and Dmytro back home to their families and loved ones,” said OSCE Secretary-General Helga Maria Schmid in a statement. On Friday, Ukraine’s top prosecutor, Andriy Kostin, called for the International Criminal Court to prosecute Russia over a missile strike on Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv earlier this week that killed two hospital workers.