A Perth journalist feared he was going to die when he was held at gunpoint with a bag over his head while being held captive in Ukraine.
Graham Phillips, 35, told one of his best friends, Les Scott, about his harrowing ordeal at the hands of Ukrainian authorities who handcuffed and transported him in a car on Wednesday evening just moments before his eventual release.
The journalist, a former Perth High School pupil who works for TV channel Russia Today (RT), was detained by Ukrainian armed guards on Tuesday at Mariupol and then transferred to Zaporozhye, where he spent the night after he was accused of spying.
Concern was raised for his safety but after being questioned by the Ukraine authorities, the former Dundee University student was released on Wednesday evening.
Mr Phillips then contacted Perth friend Mr Scott, 34, via Facebook and revealed how he thought he was about to meet a grisly end to his life.
“I spoke to Graham last night, we were sending messages on Facebook,” Mr Scott said.
“On Wednesday, Graham was taken in a car with three guys who had machine guns, he was handcuffed and had a bag put over his head and he thought ‘this is it.’ The men didn’t tell him where they were going so it must have been a very scary and really bad situation for him.
“However, he was on his way to being released, which is great.”
Mr Scott added Mr Phillips believed he was set free due to interest in his plight from the UK media.
After his release, Mr Phillips tweeted some details of his detention, saying that after being stopped at Mariupol, he was transferred to Zaporozhye, where he stayed the night under armed guard.
“Removed by armed guard today, questioned thoroughly on my work for RT,” he said. “All my work in order, no charges, no deportation, no one laid a hand on me in anger. Ukrainian authorities treated me fairly. All ok.”