Graham Phillips Missing for 24 Hours, Suspected to Be Taken to Kiev for Interrogation

MOSCOW, May 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Phillips, a British national and RT stringer, has not been in contact with anyone via phone, email or Twitter since 15:20 Moscow time on May 20^th. On the morning of May 20^th he was detained by Ukraine's National Guard  and is suspected to have been taken to Kiev to be questioned by the Ukrainian security services.

Details of Phillips' location and condition remain unknown. According to confidential RT sources, Phillips was taken from Mariupol to Kiev overnight by the Ukrainian National Guard and handed over to the Security Service of Ukraine for interrogation. RT's repeated attempts to reach Phillips or speak with the representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine have been rebuffed, and all calls to SSU dropped.

RT has appealed to the British Consulates in Russia and Ukraine, as well as to the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, with requests to aid in Phillips' release. RT has also reached out to multiple organizations that support and protect the rights of journalists around the world. The channel also sent an open letter to the UK media organizations, pointing out their silence on the Phillips detention.  

On May 21^st a representative from the consular section of the UK Foreign Office has communicated to RT that they are in touch with Phillips' family and authorities in Ukraine, but not with him personally. Earlier an FCO spokesperson said that "they stand ready to provide consular assistance."

Immediately following Phillips' detention, RT managed to speak to him by phone. In the conversation, Phillips said that he is "being treated ok… They've done checks on my documentation, they found my reports and clips I've done and they're now looking through them, asking me my position on things, asking if I'm a spy, and asking me quite thorough questions; they've checked all my documentation and photos, my laptop and the car" - before being told by the guardsmen to end the call. According to Phillips, the guards demanded that he provided an accreditation certificate, but were not satisfied when he presented the letter confirming his work with RT.

Phillips has been covering the events in Ukraine for several months. On May 19^th, a call to immediately detain and deport Phillips was published on the Facebook page of Euromaidan Kharkov, a Ukrainian activist group. In early May activist @AndrijUKR announced a bounty of $10,000 on Phillips' head.

RT is a global international news network that broadcasts 24/7 in English, Arabic and Spanish from its studios in Moscow and Washington, DC, and is available to 644 million viewers worldwide. RT is the first TV news channel in history to cross the billion views mark on YouTube. RT is the winner of the Monte Carlo TV Festival Awards for best 24-hr broadcast, and the only Russian TV channel to garner two nominations for the prestigious International Emmy Award in the News category.