02 Feb 22 | Europe and Central Asia, News and features, Russia, Ukraine
A journalist covering a demonstration in Kyiv, Ukraine, August 2020. Credit: Oleksandr Polonskyi/Shutterstock
While media crews from around the world are arriving in Ukraine to cover the situation amid a build-up of Russian troops on Ukraine’s border, local journalists are trying to overcome the many obstacles that stand in the way of their media freedom. The working environment is challenging: from disinformation campaigns and orchestrated propaganda to limited resources in newsrooms, attacks on journalists and the often inadequate response of law enforcement.
In Ukraine, the armed conflict has been going on for almost eight years, ever since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula and put armed forces in eastern Ukraine. In the wake of this, the Ukraine government has trod a difficult path as they have tried to balance media freedom and plurality against the risks that could be posed from an unregulated media landscape. They have not always made the right decisions. For example, one year ago, President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed sanctions that resulted in three TV channels associated with a pro-Russian politician – ZIK, NewsOne and 112 Ukraine – being taken off air. While some Ukrainian media experts supported the move, others saw it as repressive and criticised the authorities because they bypassed legal procedures and did not provide enough information to justify emergency restrictive measures.
At the same time Ukraine does face a real problem when it comes to misinformation. The ecosystem of online platforms and various social media in Ukraine that are being used by both state, influential non-state and political players is extensive. According to a report from Freedom House, paid commentators and trolls have proliferated Ukraine’s online public space. In many cases, these online platforms are anonymous and are spreading and amplifying messages that benefit the Russian government and seek to destabilise the Ukrainian political landscape. Many of these accounts have tens of thousands of subscribers and are being used by interested parties from inside or outside the country. They spread anything from malicious disinformation to banal clickbait to attract news audiences and they also attack journalists. According to the Institute of Mass Information survey, the majority of Ukrainian journalists have experienced some form of cyberbullying.
Independent journalists suffer from the damage related to misinformation, and their day-to-day duties are not easy either. Media workers in Ukraine are often defenseless against attacks and police responses to them can be inadequate. About 100 Ukrainian media workers were physically assaulted in 2021, revealed Ukraine’s National Union of Journalists (NUJU). This is hardly an improvement on the last year, when 101 journalists were physically assaulted.
Despite the tightening of legislation regarding accountability for attacks on journalists, the efficiency of the law enforcement system remains low, so the perpetrators often go unpunished. Several murders of famous journalists have not yet led to the punishment of those responsible. In 2019, Vadim Komarov, a journalist and blogger from Cherkasy, was violently attacked by an unknown person in a city center. Komarov was known for his exposes of corruption. He died in hospital after several months in a coma. Police still haven‘t found the perpetrator and the investigation remains open.
Another frightening example of the violence that Ukrainian journalists encounter in their work is the murder of Pavel Sheremet in 2016. Sheremet, who was a harsh critic of Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian authorities, died in a car explosion in downtown Kyiv. Three years later, after a new president came to power, the police detained five suspects. The trial is ongoing and as yet no one has been sentenced.
Sometimes difficulties arise from where they were not expected. For example, the NUJU says that rising prices for natural gas and fuel have caused many regional newsrooms to be unable to heat their editorial offices.
It’s hardly a surprise that about 48% of journalists reported self-censoring in the Ukrainian media, according to a 2019 study by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation. Topics related to patriotism, separatism, terrorism and Russia were the ones most avoided. And almost 65% believe that the war has increased self-censorship. Then there are those who literally get told what to say. For example, former employees of the state TV channel DOM have spoken about censorship by the Office of the President of Ukraine, which has demanded positive news about the president and his initiatives.
Given all of these attacks, how exactly can Ukraine’s journalists hold power to account?
And yet, thanks to the efforts of the journalistic community there is progress, the head of the NUJU Sergiy Tomilenko believes. Representatives of media and journalistic organisations have consistently raised concerns about the safety of journalists publicly and in face-to-face meetings with government officials for years. According to Tomilenko, the police have begun to investigate faster than before, and now see attacks against journalists as what they are – threats to the very nature of their work.
Media freedom and pluralism is crucial in general and no more so now. We need to see more positive change and fast.
12 Jan 22 | News and features, Russia, Ukraine
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”118142″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]On 10 January 2022, Yuri Dmitriev, a historian prosecuted on disputed charges of paedophilia, and his lawyers lodged appeals with the Supreme Court of Karelia where he was prosecuted. Dmitriev’s case is part of a long-running battle between the authorities and the Memorial Human Rights Centre (MHRC), whose Karelia branch was led by the historian.
The battle may be drawing to a conclusion. Two weeks’ earlier, on 28 December 2021, Russia’s Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of MHRC, which was established in 1988 by young reformers and Soviet dissidents. It was accused of not using the “foreign agent” designation on all its material indicating that it was a body “receiving overseas funding and engaging in political activities”. Prosecutor Zhafyarov also denounced Memorial for painting “the USSR as a terrorist state”.
The decision indicates that Russian President Vladimir Putin is now blatantly rehabilitating the USSR. Dmitriev’s prosecution in 2016 dates from an era when the regime was more veiled in its attack on critics of the regime. Another historian Sergei Koltyrin, who also researched Stalinist crimes in Karelia, was arrested on disputed paedophilia charges in 2018. He died in a prison hospital on 2 April 2020; Dmitriev and his defence attorney fought several appeals but on 27 December 2021 he was sentenced to 15 years in a strict-regime penal colony.
“Their real crime,” says John Crowfoot of the Dmitriev Affair website, “was to commemorate the victims of Stalinism, in particular the thousands shot at Sandarmokh killing field during the Great Terror (1937-1938).” Sandarmokh is the last resting place for as many as 200 members of Ukraine’s Executed Renaissance, who were leading figures in the blossoming of Ukrainian culture during the 1920s.
The imminent closure of Memorial will sicken many in Ukraine, where an estimated 3.9 million people died in the Holodomor famine genocide, a topic which the organisation has also helped research. Similar concern will be felt in the Baltic States and Kazakhstan, where up to 1.5 million people died of a famine related to collectivisation in 1931-33 and where Russian troops have been involved in violently crushing protests since the beginning of January 2022.
Even before the dissolution of Memorial there were attempts to restrict the discussion around Soviet-era crimes in Russia. In 2011, for example, historians were instructed to compile archival documents to deny the unique character of famine in Ukraine during 1932-33 and instructed on how to write about the subject. Yet numerous documents indicate that Ukraine and ethnically Ukrainian areas of Russia were targeted (in particular the 23 January 1933 directive sealing the borders of these areas to stop peasants fleeing starvation). And in 2008 a letter from Russian president Dmitry Medvedev to Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko continued the line that it was simply a tragedy when he wrote that “the tragic events of the 1930s are being used in Ukraine in order to achieve instantaneous and conformist political goals.”
There are already laws outlawing comparisons of the Soviet Union to Nazi Germany as of June 2021. But how will the decision affect debate in Russia now? According to Memorial, who I contacted for this article, their dissolution means that now, “there is only one point of view that is acceptable in discussions on historical topics, that of the state”.
Putin is playing up nostalgia for the Soviet Union. He is even surrounding Ukraine with troops and possibly considering an invasion in an attempt to boost his flagging popularity. The closure of Memorial combined with troop movements is one of many signals that he is considering not only rehabilitating but even perhaps partly renewing the Soviet Union by annexing Ukraine.
However, rather than enthusiastically flocking to join the new union Ukrainians are enlisting in territorial defense units.
Thanks in part to the work of Memorial, and Russian and Ukrainian demographers and archivists, they know that millions of their family members died at the hands of the regime and they do not want to relive that experience. Putin may succeed in stifling debate in the media and in universities but he cannot stop people in a country as big as Russia from talking. The mass graves in the tundra and across many former Soviet countries cannot be censored off the map.
Steve Komarnyckyj an award-winning poet and translator. He works on Ukrainian literary translations and is currently producing a book by Lina Kostenko[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]
02 Dec 19 | Artistic Freedom Commentary and Reports, Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Incident Reports, Belarus, Belarus Incident Reports, News and features, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine
Index on Censorship’s Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom project monitors threats, limitations and violations related to media freedom in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. Previously these countries were also included in the Mapping Media Freedom project, which Index incubated and managed between 2014 – 2018.
This report summarises policy recommendations based on analysis since April, 2019. The recommendations are based on research by in-country correspondents and Index staff. Country reports published by the project since April are available on the project webpage.
After a brief background section, the report sets out key policy recommendations that apply to all the project countries, followed by key recommendations for each project country.
Background
It is essential that media freedom groups and international organisations continue to monitor, verify and document threats, limitations and violations related to media freedom in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, continue to raise awareness about the challenges and to advocate for change. Media freedom is severely restricted in all these countries and journalists are under great pressure.
Violence against journalists; misuse of counter-terror and security legislation to silence journalists; travel bans that isolate journalists and impact them professionally; failure to investigate violent crimes against journalists and silencing and punishing journalists through defamation and insult laws – all these are familiar tactics and increasingly common. In more recent years the introduction of restrictive internet-related legislation, such as in Russia, has opened a new frontline in the fight to safeguard media freedom.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ALL PROJECT COUNTRIES
- Governments and the EU must take a stronger stand for media freedom
Governments and multilateral groups, in particular the European Union (EU), must take a strong stand in defence of media freedom and journalists, both in their bilateral relations with the project countries and in multilateral processes. Governments and the EU should ensure that issues such as proposed or existing legislation that restricts media freedom, violence against journalists and failures to investigate crimes against journalists, form part of the agenda in strategic bilateral and multilateral discussions.
Countries that have a version of the Magnitsky Act (in the EU, this includes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and The Netherlands) should consider making use of this legislation in cases where media freedom and the safety of journalists are at stake. Countries that have not yet introduced such legislation should consider doing so. The UK should put its Magnitsky amendment into use.
A man lays flowers near the picture of murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya, during a rally in Moscow, Russia, 7 October 2009. CREDIT: EPA / Alamy Stock Photo
Impunity is a major challenge in all the project countries. In Azerbaijan, the death of freelance journalist Rafic Tagi, who died in hospital after a stabbing in 2011, has never been investigated properly. Belarussian cameraman Dzmitry Zavadski disappeared in 2000 on his way to meet journalist Pavel Sheremet, later killed in Ukraine in 2016. Zavadski’s body was never found.
The instigator of the 2006 contract killing of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya in Russia is still not known, nor is the motive. In 2018 the European Court of Human Rights found that the Russian authorities had failed to carry out an effective investigation into her killing. Turkey failed to investigate the death of editor Rohat Aktaş, killed when he was covering hostilities between Kurdish separatists and Turkish forces in 2016.
Ukrainan journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed by a car bomb in Kyiv in 2016 and, despite statements from the authorities that the case is a priority, there has been no progress. All the project countries should commit to investigating unsolved killings of journalists and should implement the guidelines in recommendation CM/Rec(2016)4 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
In relation to impunity, the guidelines envisage that when investigations and prosecutions have not resulted in justice member states can consider establishing special inquiries or independent specialised bodies, and that the latter could involve participation by respected media and/or civil society figures.
Council of Europe member states must engage fully with the platform for journalism
Council of Europe member states must engage more actively with the Council of Europe’s Platform for the protection of journalism and safety of journalists. The partner organisations of the platform, which include Index on Censorship, should continue to use the platform to raise awareness of media freedom violations and threats to journalists. This should include advocating for states to respond to all alerts communicated to the platform.
The overall response rate from states in 2018 was only 39%. It is also important that states provide substantive replies to alerts and engage in follow-up dialogue with the partner organisations. The platform is an underused mechanism, with potential to achieve more. Partner organisations can also be of assistance to member states that are willing to engage fully.
Belarus is not a member of the Council of Europe, but other international organisations and processes, such as the special procedures of the United Nations human rights council, should be engaged to follow up cases and issues in Belarus.
Azerbaijan must halt its use of travel bans for journalists including Khadija Ismayilova
AZERBAIJAN
- The EU must defend media freedom in negotiations with Azerbaijan
The EU must use its influence to defend media freedom and journalists in Azerbaijan. Negotiations on an agreement to replace the EU-Azerbaijan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, in place since 1999, are at an advanced stage and will need to be brought to a conclusion by the new European Commission. It is extremely important that the EU raises media freedom and human rights in these negotiations.
In 2018, the European Parliament adopted a resolution which recommended that the EU should make deepening of relations with Azerbaijan conditional on respecting democratic values and human rights, and that it should ensure that Azerbaijan frees its political prisoners (including journalists such as Afgan Mukhtarli) before the negotiations on a new partnership agreement are concluded. Mukhtarli remains imprisoned.
Azerbaijan must refrain from targeting journalists’ online activities, including through call hacking, internet blocking and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. In October, internet blockages and disruption to mobile phone services were reported in central Baku in connection with ongoing protests. Several journalists were also detained or subjected to physical violence during the protests. Social media platforms such as YouTube should respect Azerbaijani users’, including journalists’ right to seek, receive and impart information. Platforms should implement terms and conditions consistently and transparently, including when dealing with harassment of journalists by alleged state-sponsored trolls.
Azerbaijan must halt its use of travel bans for journalists. For example, the well known journalist Khadija Ismayilova is currently under a travel ban. OSCE Media Freedom Representative Harlem Désir has stated that it is a serious hindrance to her work as a professional journalist.
BELARUS
- Amend the law on mass media
Belarus must amend the law on mass media. The legislation currently requires journalists, including freelancers, who work for media outlets registered outside Belarus to obtain accreditation from the foreign affairs ministry. This has led to journalists being fined repeatedly. At a very minimum, Belarus must urgently establish procedures that enable journalists to appeal rejected accreditation requests.
- Other governments must signal that restrictions are not acceptable
Other governments must make it clear to Belarus that restrictive and repressive actions against journalists will not be tolerated. This applies to the requirements for accreditation for journalists working for non-Belarussian media outlets above, but also to the practice of detaining journalists for short periods. Some observers have credited Belarus’ tendency to impose fines on journalists or to detain them for short periods – rather than sentence and imprison them – as an attempt to build alliances in the West at a time when relations with Russia are weak. Other governments need to signal clearly it is not acceptable.
- Train journalists in human rights and United Nations procedures
In the case of Belarus, which is not a member of the Council of Europe, it is important that support and training aimed at enabling journalists to defend their rights includes training on other international organisations and processes, such as the special procedures of the United Nations human rights council, including the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus.
Russia must investigate cases of trumped-up charges against journalists such as Ivan Golunov
RUSSIA
- Halt the extension of foreign agent legislation to individual journalists
Russia must refrain from finalising the legislative changes that would extend the scope of “foreign agent” to individual journalists. Existing problematic legislation already requires media outlets that receive funds from abroad to register as foreign agents. At the time of writing the Duma has approved changes that would extend this to individual journalists, including freelance journalists and bloggers. Any one of these receiving payments for services, or a salary from abroad, would need to register with the ministry of justice. All published work would need to display a “foreign agent” label. This legislation should not proceed, and existing legislation that labels media outlets as foreign agents should be reviewed.
- Ensure access for journalists to court proceedings
Access to court proceedings is a frequent problem for journalists. As stated in Opinion No. 8 of the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors: “Transparency in the performance of the prosecutor’s duties is an essential component of the rule of law, and one of the important guarantees of a fair trial. Not only must justice be done, but it must also be seen to be done. In order for this to be possible, the media should be able to provide information on judicial, criminal or other proceedings” (paragraph 30). The authorities must review existing processes for compliance with international standards.
- Investigate cases of trumped-up charges against journalists
The authorities must thoroughly investigate cases of trumped-up charges against journalists and ensure that the instigators are brought to justice. Recent incidents include the high-profile case of Ivan Golunov, arrested for possession and trafficking of drugs, and what appears to be a fake letter sent in the name of Nikita Telizhenko with the aim of discrediting him.
Index on Censorship magazine editor Rachael Jolley leads chants in support of Turkey’s jailed journalists ahead of Turkish President Erdogan’s visit to Downing Street in May 2018
TURKEY
- Other governments should not support Turkey’s judicial reform strategy, at least not in its current form
The judicial reform strategy (JRS), launched in May, 2019, will not achieve any meaningful change, at least not in its current form. Turkey’s judicial system is not independent: it is overloaded with cases, many which concern journalists, and it has been undermined through the large-scale dismissal of judges. It is extremely important that other countries and international organisations scrutinise the judicial reform strategy, and make it clear that in its current form it is completely inadequate when it comes to addressing the enormous structural problems of the judiciary.
- Implement the recommendations of the United Nations special rapporteur
In May 2019, the United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression published a follow-up report to an earlier visit to Turkey in 2016. The rapporteur had made a series of recommendations in 2016, which included releasing jailed journalists and reversing the closure of media outlets. The follow-up report found that Turkey had either failed to implement or had contravened all the recommendations, with the exception of one (lifting the state of emergency). Turkey should urgently implement all the recommendations made by the United Nations special rapporteur.
- Support trial observation
Diplomatic representations and international organisations, including the EU, need to support observation of trials that involve journalists and media outlets. High-profile trials in central locations can be well-attended by observers, but coverage of trials in remote locations is more limited. Support can include sending representatives to follow trials and/or financial support for organisations that monitor trials.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy must engage with the media. Photo: Wikimedia
UKRAINE
- The government must review state support for far-right groups associated with extremism
The government needs to undertake an independent and transparent review of state support, including financial support for far-right groups associated with extremism. The review should involve international experts. It should include investigating the possibility of state security force collusion with paramilitary and extremist organisations and thorough investigations of alleged involvement in violence against journalists, such as the unsolved murder of Oles Buzina.
- Elected representatives must engage with the media
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reportedly held a 14-hour press conference in October, attended by 300 journalists. Whether it signals a new era in the relationship between Ukraine’s elected representatives and the media remains to be seen. The failure of the president and lawmakers to engage meaningfully with the media in the past has been a challenge for journalists and this needs to change.
- Invest in the public service broadcaster
In the highly divisive media landscape, the role of the public broadcaster is extremely important. Ukraine’s public broadcasting company is severely underfunded and currently has a very small audience. As Index on Censorship outlined in its Demonising the Media report a year ago, a significant but underreported trend in the region is the threat to public broadcasters. A number of national broadcasters in the EU and neighbouring countries were brought under closer government control in 2014-18. Ensuring both sufficient funding and editorial independence are crucial in ensuring the public’s right to know is defended.
28 Nov 19 | Ukraine, Ukraine Incident Reports
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Index on Censorship’s Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom project tracks press freedom violations in five countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. Learn more.
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Online news outlet Bykvu reported pressure from Servant of the People politician
31 October 2019 – The editorial board of Bykvu online news outlet expressed concern at a statement from Servant of the People’s deputy chairman, Alexander Kornienko, who insinuated that parliamentary photojournalists could face lawsuits if they’re not “careful”, Zmina news outlet reported.
Servant of the People
In a statement, Bykvu’s editorial board said that they regard Kornienko’s statement that “parliamentary photojournalists should be more careful” or “it could provoke a response”, as well as his allusion to the Criminal Code and possible lawsuits against photojournalists, as a request for journalists to self-censor. This, they believe, was an attempt to put pressure on independent media.
Bykvu believed that Kornienko’s statement sought to intimidate them for having published screenshots of correspondences between Servant of the People parliamentarian, Bogdan Yaremenko, and a sex worker. The story, which had been published the day before Kornienko made his statement, spread widely in the Ukrainian media.
Link(s): https://bykvu.com/ru/bukvy/obrashhenie-redakcii-internet-izdanija-bukvy-k-prezidentu-ukrainy-i-rukovodstvu-frakcii-partii-sluga-naroda-o-nedopustimosti-davlenija-na-smi/
https://zmina.info/news/vydannya-yake-vykrylo-perepysku-slugy-narodu-z-seks-praczivnyczeyu-zayavylo-pro-tysk-z-boku-yaremenka/
https://lb.ua/news/2019/10/31/441063_yaremenko_isklyuchat_fraktsii_izza.html
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-launches-probe-into-ex-lawmaker-who-threatened-released-data-on-rfe-staff/30257921.html
Categories: Intimidation, Censorship
Source of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
Investigative crew’s personal data leaked by former government official
31 October 2019 – Andriy Portnov, former MP and ex-Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of former President Viktor Yanukovych, published personal information about the driver who works for Schemes, RFE/RL reported.
Andriy Portnov published some of Schemes staff’s personal information on his Telegram channel
Portnov, who has recently risen to prominence and has a significant following on his Telegram channel, posted the personal data of Schemes’ driver, including his passport information, home address, and car number plates.
According to RFE/RL, Schemes had been conducting an investigation into the nature of Portnov’s connections with the new Ukrainian authorities. Schemes’ editorial board told Radio Liberty that it regards the publication of the personal data as an attempt to pressure and influence the Schemes team. According to reports, it said that it considers the investigation into Portnov’s to be in the public interest. The editorial board said that it does not intend to stop the investigation.
According to reports, Lyudmila Pankratova, a lawyer from the Regional Press Development Institute, said that the dissemination of the Schemes’ driver’s information was a threat and is in contravention of Article 6 of the Law on the Protection of Personal Data, which defines the instances in which such personal data may be disseminated.
Updates:
5 November 2019 – In the days after 31 October, Portnov continued to disclose, via his Telegram channel, the registration number plate details of 16 vehicles used by Schemes’ staff. According to RFE/RL, on 5 November he reportedly invited anyone who came across these vehicles to “give a stiff rebuff” to the drivers.
7 November 2019 — Police launched criminal proceedings related to the threats against Schemes’ staff, RFE/RL reported. According to the National Police, criminal proceedings against Portnov were opened under the articles relating to the obstruction of the legitimate professional activity of journalists and threats or violence against journalists.
According to RFE/RL, Portnov responded on his Telegram channel saying that he would file a “symmetrical” police report on RFE/RL for the same offenses. He reportedly says that, since he is an employee of 112 Ukraine television, he should enjoy the same level of journalistic protection as Schemes staff. Portnov’s complaint was reportedly filed with police.
On 5 November Portnov posted on his Telegram channel that he was a special correspondent and presenter of the PortnovNow program on 112 Ukraine TV channel. The ex-official wrote that his editorial assignment from the program was to “inform the audience about people who engage in illegal activities.” This was reportedly interpreted as a reference to Schemes’ journalists.
Link(s): https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/news-schemes-portnov-dani/30248189.html
https://imi.org.ua/news/portnov-oprylyudnyv-personalni-dani-vodiya-shem-cherez-te-shho-redaktsiya-gotuye-pro-nogo-i30273
https://t.me/PortnovUA/1316
https://www.npu.gov.ua/news/Informacziya/policziya-rozpochala-kriminalne-provadzhennya-za-faktom-pogroz-zhurnalistam-radio-svoboda/
https://www.npu.gov.ua/news/Informacziya/slidchi-naczpolicziji-rozpochali-kriminalne-provadzhennya-za-zayavoyu-advokata-andriya-portnova/
https://imi.org.ua/news/politsiya-vidkryla-spravu-za-zayavoyu-portnova-pro-pereshkodzhannya-zhurnalistamy-shem-i30361
https://t.me/PortnovUA/1339
Categories: DDoS/Hacking/Doxing, Online Defamation/Discredit/Harassment/Verbal Abuse, Intimidation
Source of violation: Known private individual(s)
Female journalist threatened when filming accident scene
27 October 2019 – Olga Dvoynos, a correspondent for UA:Chernihiv TV channel, was threatened by an unknown person while she was filming a scene of a car accident in Chernihiv, Detector Media reported.
While Dvoynos was filming, an unknown man approached her, threatened to break her phone, and stopped her from filming, even after she had shown him her press identification.
According to the chief news editor of UA:Chernihiv, Andriy Titok, the car that crashed allegedly belonged to a company owned by the mayor of Chernihiv, Vladislav Atroshenko. UA:Chernihiv is working on identifying the man, and intends to file a complaint to the police on obstruction of the journalist’s professional activity.
Link(s): https://cn.suspilne.media/news/44423
https://stv.detector.media/reformuvannya/regional_movnyky/zhurnalisttsi_kanalu_ua_chernigiv_pogrozhuvali_rozbiti_telefon_pid_chas_zyomki_na_mistsi_dtp/
Categories: Intimidation
Source of violation: Other/Unknown
Online news outlet editor assaulted by local deputy
23 October 2019 – Victor Goloborodko, online editor for Texts.Alexandriya, was assaulted by Hennady Lotsman, the Head of the Housing, Urban Planning and Architecture Department of Alexandria City Council, the Institute for Mass Information reported.
The journalist was filming a conflict near a landfill, between local residents and employees of a municipal utility that managed the landfill.
Goloborodko told IMI’s representative in Kirovograd Region that he had been called by local residents to report on the situation around the landfill. Employees of the municipal utility that managed the landfill company blocked the entry for residents (who were reportedly outraged by the presence of landfills in the vicinity of their homes). He said that he arrived at the venue around midnight and began filming the incident. Footage of Hennady Lotsman’s car was reportedly in the video. He said that the deputy tried to knock the camera out of his hands and pushed him.
Immediately after the incident, the journalist filed a complaint to the police, reporting an injury to the hand. He reportedly said that he intends to pursue the matter.
Link(s):https://imi.org.ua/news/v-oleksandriyi-deputat-napav-na-mistsevogo-zhurnalista-i30125
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury, Attack to Property
Source of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
Separatists sentenced Ukrainian journalist to 15 years in prison
22 October 2019 – Ukrainian journalist and blogger Stanyslav Aseev was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the so-called “Supreme Court” of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Hromadske reported. He was also deprived of the right to engage in journalistic activities for 2.5 years.
According to online media outlets of Donetsk People’s Republic, Aseev conducted a visual reconnaissance of the locations of the units of the People’s Police of Donetsk People’s Republic, and transmitted the data to representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine. In the case file it is alleged that the blogger has recruited pro-Ukrainian users in social media to collect and transmit military and other information.
The so-called “court” found Aseev guilty of organising an extremist community, espionage and incitement to espionage, public calls for extremist activities, and public calls for actions aimed at violating territorial integrity. Aseev will serve time in a maximum-security jail.
Ukrainian journalist Stanyslav Aseev went missing in the Donbass region on 3 June 2017. That day he was reportedly expected to send material to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which showed life in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. Aseev has been working under the pen name of Stanyslav Vasin since 2014, and reported from Donetsk for Radio Svoboda, Dzerkalo Tyzhnya, Ukrayinska Pravda and Ukrainian Week.
Link(s): https://hromadske.ua/ru/posts/v-dnr-osudili-plennogo-zhurnalista-aseeva-do-15-let-tyurmy
http://dnr-live.ru/ukrainskiy-zhurnalist-aseev-prigovoren-v-dnr-k-15-godam-kolonii/
Categories: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation, Criminal Charges/Fines/Sentences
Source of violation: Other/Unknown
TV presenter received letter containing death threats
21 October 2019 – Mykhailo Beizerman, political talk show host at the First City TV channel in Odessa, received a letter containing death threats. Beizerman posted the letter on his Facebook page.
The letter said that the representatives of a patriotic organization were gathering information about the journalist and decided that he would be a “showcase victim.” A photograph depicting Beizerman as a shooting target was included in the letter. Beizerman linked the threats to his journalistic activities.
The name of the patriotic organization was not specified in the letter. The police launched an investigation into the threats.
Link(s): https://www.facebook.com/mic.beyzerman/posts/241702263470920
https://www.infoport.live/news/odessa-news/odesskij-zhurnalist-poluchil-neobychnoe-pismo-s-ugrozami/
Categories: Intimidation
Source of violation: Other/Unknown
Court grants investigators access to journalists‘ internal communication
17 October 2017 – Kyiv’s Pechersk District Court granted the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) permission to temporarily access editorial communication of the journalists of Schemes, an investigative program of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and public broadcaster UA:Pershyi, RFE/RL reported. SBI investigators also were granted access to a range of other in-house editorial data – the work hours of journalists, cameramen and drivers, and data on their salaries. The information is to be provided within a month.
According to the court, if the editorial board does not provide the SBI with the above information, the court, at the request of the investigators of the SBI, “has the right to issue a search permit for the purpose of finding and seizing the items and documents.”
In January 2018, Schemes authors Mykhailo Tkach and Nataliya Sedletska did a story titled “Mr. Petro Incognito: President Poroshenko’s Secret Vacation”. They found proof that Ukraine’s ex-president went on a secret vacation to the Maldives that cost around $500,000, and suggested that he used a fake passport and avoided customs. A police investigation was launched on 6 August, which includes charges such as an alleged “unlawful transfer of persons” – in particular, Poroshenko – across Ukrainian state border “using knowingly forged documents.”
The list of data that the journalists are required to submit to the SBI, includes all the footage they took, information requests and responses during the preparation of the investigation, any documents confirming the presence of involved journalists and other staff during the filming.
Schemes editorial board published an official statement, saying that documents requested by the ruling was “excessive”, and expressed concern that providing them would compromise their sources. They noted that Schemes had provided all the documents that had previously been requested.
Kyiv’s Pechersk District Court decision cannot be appealed. Schemes are consulting lawyers to establish the best course of action.
Link(s): https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/news-schemes-sud-dbr-dostup/30232159.html
https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/schemes/30232185.html
https://www.golos-ameriki.ru/a/court-in-kiev-granted-access-to-the-correspondence-of-journalists/5137310.html
Categories: Subpoena / Court Order/ Lawsuits
Source of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
TV crew blocked by unidentified persons
15 October 2019 – Avers TV channel’s crew was blocked by unidentified persons near Volodymyr-Volyn poultry factory in the Volyn region, the Institute for Mass Information reported.
The journalists were reportedly filming a report about the poultry factory’s open-air warehouses (used to hold waste) and the pollution they produced. During filming, two cars of unknown men arrived at the scene and blocked the TV crew’s car.
Avers TV journalist Natalia Polishchuk reported that the unidentified men refused to identify themselves. Polishchuk said that the men prevented them from filming, saying that it was private property. She reportedly said that because their vehicle was blocked, they locked themselves into the car as a means of protection. She said that the men did not react to their signals to clear their path. From the car, they called the police who arrived within 40 minutes. The journalists filed a complaint to the police regarding the incident.
According to IMI, the police are investigating the case and deciding whether to open criminal proceedings under the article “impeding the legitimate professional activity of journalists.”
Link(s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jv0Ncfz5lc
https://imi.org.ua/news/zhurnalistiv-aversu-zablokuvaly-pid-chas-zjomok-vidstijnykiv-volodymyr-volynskoyi-ptahofabryky-i30029
Categories: Blocked Access
Source of violation: Unknown
National Council requested court to revoke TV channel’s license
2 October 2019 – The National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting has requested that the District Administrative Court of Kyiv revoke the broadcasting license issued to the LLC Novyny 24 hours (which uses the NewsOne logo), the Institute for Mass Information reported. The court is currently deciding whether to institute proceedings in this administrative case.
On 5 September, the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting sued the NewsOne TV channel due to what they said was the systematic incitement of hostility.
NewsOne claimed that it considered National Council’s decision to sue them as part of a crackdown on freedom of speech in Ukraine and an attempt to oust all independent media from the Ukrainian media landscape.
In August, National Council member Serhiy Kostinsky said that the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting would ask the judges to revoke the license of NewsOne TV channel.
Link(s): https://imi.org.ua/news/natsrada-podala-pozov-do-sudu-z-prohannyam-anulyuvaty-litsenziyu-newsone-i29856
http://oask.gov.ua/node/4119?fbclid=IwAR3ckT3Qe51dd4wf0pT9sDgnUDqV-llkkIWtjJmXeQhRCGpLnjieKkL25Ao
https://112.international/ukraine-top-news/international-editorial-council-demands-ukrainian-authorities-to-prevent-newsone-tv-channel-license-cancellation-43012.html
Categories: Legal Measures
Source of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1574858033039-46c1676b-ec83-1″ taxonomies=”8996″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
