KYIV. Sept 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe (CoE) Dmytro Kuleba has called on the CoE Commissioner for Human Rights to take measures to facilitate the release of Ukrainian citizen Pavlo Hryb, who was abducted in Belarus and is now imprisoned in Russia.

"I told the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe about the abduction of Hryb and called on the Commissioner for Human Rights to take measures for his release," Kuleba wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

"I reminded [them] about Aseyev [Ukrainian journalist Stanyslav Aseyev (Vasin) kidnapped in Russian-occupied Donbas], Semena [Ukrainian journalist of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Mykola Semena imprisoned in Russian-occupied Crimea on charges of "public calls for actions aimed at violating Russia's territorial integrity"], Sushchenko [correspondent of Ukraine's national news agency Ukrinform Roman Sushchenko illegally arrested in Russia], Chiygoz [deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Akhtem Chiygoz convicted in Russian-annexed Crimea on charges of organizing and participating in civil unrest at a rally in Simferopol on February 26, 2014, prior to the referendum on Crimea's accession to Russia], about persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate in Crimea," he wrote.

"The Council of Europe should act. Soft response means severer repressions in the Russian Federation," he added.