September 24, 2022

Served Uncivilly


Served Uncivilly
The OSCE Parliament building, Vienna. Wikimedia Commons, Kaihsu Tai

On September 19, authorities in the Russia-backed separatist Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) in eastern Ukraine sentenced an employee of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to thirteen years in prison.

The accused is a local from Luhansk who was a member of the OSCE's team in the area observing Russia's invasion of Ukraine. According to Radio Free Europe, he is one of as many as six OSCE employees who have been arrested under suspicion of being foreign agents. Information as to the exact status of the OSCE employee in this case and his colleagues is scarce, as the LPR has not confirmed or denied reports.

The OSCE is an international organization whose purpose is to promote human rights, nuclear arms nonproliferation, democracy, and other liberal values throughout the continent of Europe. It is hardly surprising that they would run afoul of a Kremlin-supported regime.

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