"We are checking that information," an unnamed man said at the press conference. "If it turns out to be true, she will be handed over to the police." Krat herself said she was just being questioned.'We saw it as our right to detain her, and she will be kept in detention until we figure out her involvement in these war crimes.'
On Sunday evening, Krat also addressed reporters while blindfolded.Irma Krat was blindfolded while speaking to reporters on Sunday night.“We have gathered you here to announce that, in the town of Sloviansk, a diehard activist of the Maidan self-defense forces, Irma Krat, was detained today,” a man in camouflage fatigues told reporters that had been invited into the local headquarters of the state security services.Irma Krat, journalist/Maidan activist, held by pro-Russians and wheeled out for world's weirdest press conference — Simon Ostrovsky (@SimonOstrovsky)April 21, 2014
Ostrovsky was also at another press conference, on Monday, by the self-declared “mayor” of Sloviansk, Vacheslav Ponomarev. That event also got a little weird.In Photos: Ukraine launches 'counter-terrorism' mission. View the pictures here.There, a woman who identified herself as a local councilwoman accused journalists of being liars, and Ponomarev threatened to throw out a reporter whose questions he found "provocative.""There was an AP reporter who asked the mayor a couple of times why they were holding the former mayor under guard, and the current, self-declared mayor was very unhappy with that line of questioning," Ostrovsky said. "He told him that he’d throw the guy out of the press conference if he asked another provocative question."The self-declared mayor of Sloviansk threatened to throw out a reporter whose questions he found 'provocative.'
Wait, this is the weirdest presser ever. This lady called us all liars and then asked for funeral money — Simon Ostrovsky (@SimonOstrovsky)April 21, 2014
Sloviansk pro-Russia 'mayor' threatens to throw journalist out for
— Simon Ostrovsky (@SimonOstrovsky)April 21, 2014
Earlier this month, activists who had occupied a government building in Luhansk held a press conference to declare that their intentions were “peaceful.” But that presser seemed rather intended to show just how well armed they were, as shown in the video and tweets below.Now he's not letting reporters leave the press conference:
— Simon Ostrovsky (@SimonOstrovsky)April 21, 2014
Oleksiy Karakin inside building in — David Patrikarakos (@dpatrikarakos)April 11, 2014
Follow Alice Speri on Twitter: @alicesperiArmed guards watch the door during the press conference inside occupied building in — David Patrikarakos (@dpatrikarakos)April 11, 2014