UN team: Unable to locate Russian journalists arrested in Ukraine

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said its monitoring team in Ukraine could not locate two Russian correspondents reportedly arrested in Ukraine five days ago, a UN spokesman said here Friday. The team "has no confirmation of the whereabouts of the two Russian correspondents of TV LifeNews," but it was closely following up with Ukrainian authorities and their lawyers on this issue, Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing. Two Russian reporters, Oleg Sidyakin and Marat Saichenko, were detained on Sunday in the eastern Donetsk region on suspicion of " facilitating terrorism." "In the past few days, in a series of meetings with Ukrainian officials, the head of the UN Human Rights monitoring team has been calling for the lawyers to be granted access to the journalists," he said. The Russian State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament, on Wednesday called for immediate release of the two Russian reporters detained by Kiev on charges of aiding terrorism, saying they have fallen victims to provocation by Ukraine's security forces. Ukrainian authorities have alleged that the two reporters were armed and involved in terrorism, saying that a portable anti- aircraft missile was found in the vehicle of the two reporters. The Russian State Duma also accused Kiev of "hypocritical adherence" to democratic principals while actually hindering reporters from entering Ukraine and endangering their safety.