Pro-Russia Forces Free 1 Western Observer

Seven others have been held since Friday
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 27, 2014 11:59 AM CDT
Pro-Russia Forces Free 1 Western Observer
Vacheslav Ponomarev, self-proclaimed mayor of Slovyansk, right, speaks as two military observers, one Axel Schneider of Germany, left, look to each other in Slovyansk, Ukraine, April 27, 2014.   (Alexander Zemlianichenko)

At least one of the eight European military observers held prisoner by pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine has been freed. An AP photographer saw the observer get into a car today with representatives of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe and drive away. The released man is a Swedish national who was released for health reasons, reports al-Jazeera. "He has a mild form of diabetes and so we decided to let him go," says a separatist spokeswoman. Earlier in the day, the eight observers had been shown in public for the first time since they were detained on Friday and accused of spying for NATO. (More Ukraine stories.)

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