04 Jul 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.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”6 Incidents” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]
Journalist’s car deliberately crashed by thugs
27 June 2019 — An unknown person deliberately crashed his car into Stop Corruption online outlet crew’s car in Odessa, the National Police reported. The left side of the car was damaged. The driver, who was inside the vehicle, wasn’t injured.
The incident was reported by journalist Roman Bochkala on his Facebook page. According to his post, investigative journalist Asya Glutska and her crew went to film a $1 million private villa owned by judge Serhiy Chvankin, head of Kyiv district court in Odessa. After that the crew drove to Kyiv District Court. About 30 hired thugs were waiting for the journalists there. One of them drove a car into the side of the journalists’ vehicle. According to Odessa police report, the thugs also threatened Glutska and the crew.
The police has launched an investigation under the criminal article of “threat or violence against a journalist.”
Link(s): https://www.facebook.com/bochkala/posts/2477009425684765
https://od.npu.gov.ua/news/zvichajni-novini/policziya-zyasovuje-obstavini-poshkodzhennya-avtomobilya-ta-pogroz-zhurnalistam/
Categories: Attack to Property, Intimidation
Source of violation: Unknown
Local newspaper editor assaulted
22 June 2019 — Olexander Nakaznenko, a Zorya Pryirpinnya editor, was assaulted by the village council deputy Yury Marchuk in Gostomel, IMI reported.
According to the Zorya Pryirpinnya website, Nakaznenko said “it happened at the Gostomel market during lunch time, when I brought the new issue of my newspaper to hand out there. The deputy of the Gostomel village council, Yuri Marchuk, who saw me with a stack of newspapers, at first wouldn’t allow me to pass and picked at me with insults and threats. When I passed by him… he ran after me and hit me in the back of my head with his fist from behind”. Nakaznenko told Marchuck that his actions were illegal, and the latter knocked the smartphone out of his hands. That part of the encounter was caught on camera.
After the incident, Nakaznenko filed a complaint to the police. He connected the assault with his journalists professional activities, as he has long criticised the work of the Gostomelian deputy Yury Marchuk in the newspaper.
Link(s):
http://zora-irpin.info/deputat-napav-na-redaktora-gazeti-zayavnik-pov-yazuye-tse-z-profesijnoyu-diyalnistyu-zhurnalista-video/
https://imi.org.ua/news/na-kyivshchyni-deputat-napav-na-redaktora-hazety/
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury
Source of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
Female journalist assaulted by tenant of private beach
20 June 2019 — Aliya Zamchynska, correspondent of Dumskaya online news outlet, was assaulted and threatened by Yury Reznikov, tenant of Otrada beach in Odessa and owner of a cable car next to it, Dumskaya.net reported.
According to Ukrayinska Pravda, local deputies, civil activists and journalists arrived to Otrada beach to remove an illegal fence restricting public access to the beach. The video recorded by Dumskaya shows Reznikov confronting the group armed with a machine gun and threatening them. “I’m not ready to kill for private property, but I’m ready to shoot [you] in the legs,” Reznikov told them. During the episode Reznikov pushed Zamchynska, who fell to the ground and received an abrasion.
Deputy Olexander Sheremet managed to disarm Reznikov, and the police were called to the scene. They discovered that the gun had been loaded.
This is not the first time that Reznikov and his family attacked journalists and activists: in 2012 his daughter assaulted activist Zoya Melnik in front of her child, and in 2014 Reznikov pushed a cameraman for Pervyi Gorodskoi TV channel into a swimming pool with his camera.
Link(s):
https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2019/06/20/7218666/
https://dumskaya.net/news/vo-vremya-inspektcii-plyazha-arendatory-otrady-s-099928/
https://imi.org.ua/news/v-odesi-pid-chas-konfliktu-z-predstavnykamy-inspektsii-orendari-pliazhu-vdaryly-zhurnalistku/
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury
Source of violation: Known private individual(s)
Two journalists assaulted by head of election campaign
13 June 2019 — Two reporters from Stop Corruption online outlet, Maria Gural and Volodymyr Tsyganov, were assaulted in Priluki, Chernihiv region, Institute for Mass Information reported. The attacker was identified as Olexander Chaly, deputy head of politician Boris Prikhodko’s election campaign for Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada.
According to Stop Corruption website, the journalists were trying to access an open event where Prikhodko was meeting with members of the public. The crew intended to check their intel on alleged voter bribery at the event.
Olexander Chaly first tried to snatch a microphone from Gural, and then began to beat her. Tsyganov tried to protect Gural and got beaten up as well. As a result of the assault, Gural received a concussion, and Tsyganov ended up with scratches and light injuries. The police arrested the assaulter and charged him under the criminal article of “threat or violence against a journalist.”
Link(s):
https://imi.org.ua/news/na-chernihivshchyni-pobyly-zhurnalistiv/
https://cn.npu.gov.ua/news/novini/policziya-chernigivshhini-zatrimala-cholovika-yakij-napav-na-zhurnalistiv/
http://stopcor.org/krivavi-vibori-zastupnik-nachalnika-viborchogo-shtabu-kandidata-v-nardepi-prihodka-napav-na-zhuranlistiv-stopkoru/
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury
Source of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
TV journalists threatened to have their equipment damaged
10 June 2019 — UA:Rivne TV correspondent Alina Prymak and her cameraman were threatened by unknown individuals near the private residence of a local businessman in Rivne, IMI reported.
The TV crew came to the scene to follow up on the local police’s report about an arson in a private residence the night before. The journalists approached the residence, and a few unknown men who claimed to be working there confronted them in the street. Prymak asked if it was possible to talk to the owner about the arson. “The men began threatening to cut the wheels of a car that was parked nearby, apparently having decided that it was the car the journalists had arrived in, although that was not the case. They also threatened to break our camera. At the same time, one of the men pushed the cameraman, ” Prymak said.
After that journalists left the scene. UA:Rivne TV filed a complaint to the police.
UA:Rivne TV is a local branch of the Ukrainian public broadcaster in Rivne.
Link(s):
https://www.facebook.com/uarivnetv/videos/2406088112943990/
https://imi.org.ua/news/u-rivnomu-zhurnalistam-suspil-noho-pohrozhuvaly-rozbyty-kameru/
Categories: Intimidation
Source of violation: Unknown
Camerperson severely assaulted
7 June 2019 — Unidentified individuals severely beat Vadym Makaryuk , a cameraman for the 24th channel and Visti.News portal, during a mass brawl at the Barabashovo marketplace in Kharkiv, 24th channel reported.
According to the National Police, a the mob assaulted Makaryuk as he was filming an altercation at the market. They sprayed tear gas in his eyes, punched him in the face, destroyed his camera and stole the memory card. The incident happened during the clashes between a right-wing group the National Corps, war veterans in the Donbas and merchants in the market. According to the market managers, the conflict arose due to a property dispute.
The journalist was taken to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed a hemorrhagic stroke, which was the result of cerebral hemorrhage caused by the assault. Makaryuk is in critical condition at the hospital.
Police opened criminal proceedings under the articles “threats or violence against a journalist”, “obstruction of journalists’ legal activities”, and “robbery”.
UPDATE
12 June 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, condemned the attack on Vadym Makaryuk, and called on the Ukrainian authorities to thoroughly investigate the incident. “I condemn the attack and beating of Vadim Makaryuk, and urge the authorities to do their utmost to bring the perpetrators of this attack swiftly to justice,” Désir said. “Targeting and attacking journalists because of their work is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.”
12 June 2019 – A court in Kharkiv refused to detain a man involved in the brutal beating of Makaryuk, considering round-the-clock house arrest was sufficient, Interfax-Ukraine reported. According to the court’s decision, a 26-year-old unemployed Kharkiv resident Kozlyuk who was involved in the assault on Makaryuk would have to spend one month and 28 days under house arrest. Immediately after the hearing, the lawyer of the suspect said that the defense would appeal the decision. The press service of the prosecutor’s office also announced their intention to appeal this decision of the court.
Link(s): https://24tv.ua/den_narodzhennya_u_reanimatsiyi_yak_pochuvayetsya_operator_24_kanalu_yakogo_pobili_u_harkovi_n1164234
https://hk.npu.gov.ua/news/Inshi-podiji/slidchi-vidkrili-kriminalni-provadzhennya-za-faktami-pobittya-zhurnalista-ta-pereshkodzhannya-jogo-profesijnij-diyalnosti
https://www.facebook.com/newsrezonans/videos/623098251509984/
https://www.facebook.com/ann.chernenko.12/posts/2078542345588065
https://interfax.com.ua/news/general/593505.html
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury, Attack to Property
Source of violation: Unknown, 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:1563375564609-6079fa69-4db7-2″ taxonomies=”8996″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
20 Jun 19 | Azerbaijan, Monitoring and Advocating Coverage, News and features, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]This article is part of an ongoing series exploring the issues raised by Index on Censorship’s Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom project.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]In 2018, 17 alerts were submitted to the Council of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists relating to impunity for murders of journalists. Of these, 15 occurred in the countries covered by Index on Censorship’s ongoing Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom project: Turkey (2), Azerbaijan (2), Ukraine (5), and Russia (6).
The Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom project documents, analyses, and publicises threats, limitations and violations related to media freedom and safety of journalists in Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, (as well as Belarus, which is not in the Council of Europe), in order to identify possible opportunities for advancing media freedom in these countries.
As part of the project, Index on Censorship submits and co-sponsors alerts on violations, including physical attacks on journalists and threats to media freedom, to the Council of Europe’s platform. When a member state is mentioned in an alert, the state is asked to log any remedial action they have taken in the platform. The platform’s objective is to put pressure on Council of Europe states to act in accordance with international human rights law and media standards.
Turkey, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Russia look likely to be among Europe’s most flagrant offenders of media freedom again in 2019: despite accounting for just 8.5% of the Council of Europe member states, they account for 36% of the alerts filed on the platform so far this year.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”98654″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Turkey remains the world’s largest imprisoner of journalists. Arrested journalists continue to be detained on charges of membership of or creating propaganda for a terrorist organisation. Three of the fourteen staff of the newspaper Özgürlükçü Demokrasi who were arrested in 2018 and charged with “membership in a terrorist organisation and terrorist propaganda” remain in detention in Istanbul. The next hearing in their trial is scheduled for 28 June 2019.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”107324″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Despite President Aliyev’s pardoning of more than 400 people earlier this year, journalists among them, severe obstacles remain to press freedom in Azerbaijan. Travel bans remain one of the most common instruments with which to silence critical voices in the country, despite being in violation of Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own”), which Azerbaijan ratified in 1992.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”98655″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Last month investigative reporter Vadym Komarov was beaten into a coma in the Ukrainian city of Cherkasy. He was found with severe head injuries and was taken to hospital where he underwent brain surgery. He frequently wrote about corruption, administrative incompetence, prison conditions, and illegal construction. According to the most recent reports, police have not yet identified the attacker, but are treating the incident as premeditated attempted murder.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”98652″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Along with Ukraine, Russia is among the Council of Europe states where journalists endure the highest rate of physical violence. Earlier this month, unknown assailants attacked the well-known blogger Vadim Kharchenko after he went to meet a potential source. Kharchenko is known for reporting on and investigating alleged police abuse of power. As noted in its recently published report, Index on Censorship recorded 116 violations of press freedom in Russia between 1 February 2019 and 30 April 2019. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]
19 Jun 19 | Monitoring and Advocating Coverage
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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.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]How does Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom work?
The project relies on a network of independent journalists who monitor local news sources, speak to individuals involved in the situations and interface with journalist unions to understand the facts of the situation and help put the press freedom violation in a larger context.
Correspondents, who are each responsible for a particular country, submit narrative summaries of the facts of the situation to a research editor, who works with the correspondent to verify the information. The narrative reports are then published in summary form in periodic roundups of developments. Once monthly, a themed article is published highlighting a particular aspect of press freedom drawing on the submitted narratives. Periodically reports summarising the issues for a particular country are published to highlight the situation for journalists on the ground.
Who is a journalist?
Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom defines a journalist a person who gathers, assesses, verifies, organises, and presents news and information, via print, digital or broadcast media; who holds government, business, and other institutions and authorities accountable; who provides citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments; and who puts the public good above all else, without regard for the political viewpoint of the outlet.
What is a press freedom violation?
Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom defines a “press freedom violation” against a set of categories to help understand the incident and place it in a larger analytical framework.
For example, a journalist barred from reporting in a country’s parliament; a reporter injured by police or demonstrators at the site of a protest, despite presenting press credentials and identifying safety gear. An independent journalist refused entry to a press conference because of material they had previously published. Press freedom violations can take many different forms and the above examples are just a small sampling.
How does Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom evaluate press freedom violations?
Each narrative report that is sent to Monitoring Media Freedom is run against a set of categories to place it in a larger context and allow for analysis.
- Limitation to Media Freedom
-
- Death/Killing – Media worker killed as a result of their work
- Physical Assault/Injury – Media worker subjected to violence as a result of their work
- Arrest/Detention/Interrogation – Media worker arrested, detained or called in for questioning as a result of their work
- Criminal Charges/Fines/Sentences – Media worker charged in connection with their work
- Intimidation – Media worker (and/or their family/friends) menaced as a result of their work
- Blocked Access – Media worker prevented from covering a story or speaking to a source; media worker prevented from entering a place/institution/country
- Attack to Property – Media worker’s computers, cameras or other tools damaged while on assignment; media worker’s home or vehicle sabotaged as result of their work; media office sabotaged
- Subpoena / Court Order/ Lawsuits – Media worker sued as a result of their work; Media worker ordered to court; This would also include SLAPP suits where a journalist is targeted with legal action. Libel, defamation suits:
- Legal Measures – Legislation or court rulings that directly curtail media freedom
- Online Defamation/Discredit/Harassment/Verbal Abuse – Media worker harassed, bullied, threatened, ridiculed online (via email/social media/website comments/on forums)
- Offline Defamation/Discredit/Harassment/Verbal Abuse – Media worker harassed, bullied, threatened, ridiculed verbally, in a public or private setting
- DDoS/Hacking/Doxing – News site or journalist targeted with or without violation of privacy
- Censorship — Journalist’s material altered, removed or spiked
- Previously published work substantially edited or removed from public access
- Journalist’s work altered beyond normal editing or withheld from publishing
- Commercial interference: Threats by companies to pull adverts over coverage; Pressure from media owners; Bribing journalists, editors or media outlets to publish fake news or favorable coverage about a company
- Soft censorship: indirect government pressure on media groups through advertising decisions and restrictive legislation;
- Self-censorship: Journalist says they have not reported on a subject because of pressure or fear
- Loss of Employment: Journalist fired, suspended, or forced to quit their job because of their reporting
- Other Serious Issues — other cases that don’t fit into existing categories
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- Employer/Publisher/Colleague(s)
- Police/State security
- Private security
- Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
- Court/Judicial
- Corporation/Company
- Known private individual(s)
- Criminal organisation
- Another media
- Unknown — any other type. If the abusing party is known but there’s also an unknown mastermind, we use two categories – the one that applies to the known party, and Unknown.
[/vc_column_text][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1562066317956-93988c67-cdc0-4″ taxonomies=”35195″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
31 May 19 | 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.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”9 Incidents” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Online outlet correspondent assaulted by politician” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]16 May 2019 — Oleg Baturin, New Day online outlet correspondent, was assaulted by a deputy of the Kherson regional council in Kahovka. The official blocked the journalist, grabbed his hands and threatened to cripple him.
Link(s): http://nikcenter.org/newsItem/50465
http://nk-online.com.ua/kahovskiy-zhurnalist-ne-hochet-stat-kalekoy-poetomu-obratilsya-v-politsiyu/
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury
Source of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalist assaulted by a government official in Kyiv” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]15 May 2019 — Volodymyr Tymofiychuk, 1+1 TV Channel correspondent, was assaulted by a government official in Kyiv. The official pushed the journalist, grabbed his clothes and hands.
Link(s): https://detector.media/community/article/167526/2019-05-23-zhurnalist-11-podav-u-politsiyu-zayavu-cherez-pereshkodzhannya-z-boku-pratsivnika-kabinetu-ministriv/
https://imi.org.ua/news/zhurnalist-1-1-napysav-zaiavu-u-politsiiu-cherez-pereshkodzhannia-z-boku-posadovtsia-kabminu/
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury
Source of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Editor-in-chief’s car set on fire” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
12 May 2019 — The editor-in-chief of TVi Channel Vladimir Yegorov said that his car was set on fire in Kyiv, the Ukrinform news agency reported.
“Today, at 4:30 am, my car was set on fire, I associate it with my professional activity,” Yegorov posted on Facebook. According to Yegorov’s version of events, arson is suspected because his neighbors heard the sound of an explosion before the car caught fire.
Ukraine’s National Police launched a criminal investigation under the “intentional destruction or damage to property” of the country’s criminal code. Yegorov said he would ask the police to reframe the case under the article “intentional destruction or damage to the property of the journalist”, according to Detector Media online outlet.
Sources:
https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-kyiv/2698400-golovnomu-redaktoru-telekanalu-spalili-avtivku.html
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2667278600009174&id=100001811816352
https://kyiv.npu.gov.ua/news/Informacziya/policziya-rozpochala-kriminalne-provadzhennya-za-faktom-zagoryannya-avtomobilya/
https://detector.media/community/article/167195/2019-05-12-politsiya-vidkrila-provadzhennya-za-faktom-pidpalu-avtivki-golovnogo-redaktora-tvi/
Categories: Attack to Property
Source of violation: Unknown[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”TV crew assaulted by customs officers” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]9 May 2019 — Natalia Polishchuk, Maria Petruchyk and Vyacheslav Moroshko — journalists working for Avers TV channel — were assaulted by customs officers at the Yagodyn border crossing with Poland.
The journalists were investigating a large shipment of amber, which was alleged to have been smuggled to Poland through the Yagodyn customs station. They entered a restaurant where customs agents were attending a party and began asking questions about corruption and the amber smuggling. According to Avers, the officers who were present behaved aggressively and assaulted the journalists. One journalist’s finger was bruised and the crew’s camera was broken, 1+1 TV channel reported.
“Two men approached me, they started tugging at me, tore my jacket, hit the cameraman, hit the camera,” Polishchuk said. Petruchyk reported, “He wrestled my phone out of my hand, used brute force, my hand is damaged, he tore my journalist’s ID off me.” The officers also forcibly took the journalists’ driver’s licenses, car documents and bank cards. A customs officer told one of the journalists he would “bury her” the following day. The journalists managed to film a part of the incident.
The police have opened criminal proceedings on three articles. “It’s about interfering with the professional activities of journalists, robbery and causing intentional light bodily injuries,” Viktor Homol, spokesperson for the National Police in the Volyn region, said. The case is now being investigated by the State Bureau of Investigations.
Sources:
https://www.volynnews.com/news/extreme/piani-volynski-mytnyky-pobyly-ta-pohrabuvaly-znimalnu-hrupu-telekan/
https://tsn.ua/ukrayina/zhurnalistiv-na-volini-pobili-mitniki-spravu-rozsliduye-dbr-1343535.html
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury, Attack to Property, Blocked Access
Source of violation: Government/State Agency/Public official(s)/Political party
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalists assaulted during commemoration rally” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
9 May 2019 — Unidentified persons threw red paint on people during a commemorative march in the Dnipro city (Dnipropetrovsk). As a result of the attack, a journalist from Kryvyi Rih and the operator of the 34th TV channel were injured, Pervyy Krivorozhskiy TV channel reported.
The names of the journalists were not reported. The National Police confiscated items that were stained with paint. The journalists filed a complaint with the police, demanding the investigation to be opened under the article “obstructing the professional activities of journalists” of the criminal code of Ukraine. However, the police opened a case under the article “hooliganism”.
Sources:
https://1kr.ua/news-50606.html
https://dp.npu.gov.ua/news/podiji/stanom-na-1500-v-policziji-vidkrito-4-kriminalni-provadzhennya-pov-yazani-z-podiyami-pid-chas-masovix-zaxodiv/
https://imi.org.ua/news/u-dnipri-pid-chas-mitynhu-postrazhdala-znimal-na-hrupa-34-kanalu/
Categories: Attack to Property
Source of violation: Unknown[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalist receives death threat after arson attack on her home” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
8 May 2019 — Nataliya Kamyshnikova, s journalist for the Radar local online news outlet in Novovolynsk city, was threatened with death, the Institute of Mass Information (IMI) reported. A week earlier, unknown persons set fire to the journalist’s house.
“Yesterday to my friend came close a woman under thirty – with dyed hair, in black glasses in the central market of the city of Novovolynsk. The woman firmly took her by the hand and said: Tell Kamyshnikova this was just the first warning. We will kill her, let her prepare a coffin,” the journalist wrote on Radar website.
On the night of May 1, two unidentified men set fire to a the house belonging to the journalist. Kamyshnikova claimed this had been done out of revenge for one of her articles.
According to IMI, the National Police began the criminal proceedings because of the threats to murder the journalist. Kamyshnikova said that in late January, an anonymous person on the internet threatened her with physical harassment. The journalist then complained to the police. She insisted on entering her case into the Uniform Register of Pre-trial Investigations and requested that criminal proceedings to be instituted. However, the police refused to open criminal proceedings.
Sources:
http://radar.in.ua/obitsyayut-ubyty-komu-zh-ya-tak-zavazhayu/
https://imi.org.ua/news/na-volyni-zhurnalisttsi-cherez-znayomu-peredaly-pohrozu-vbyvstvom/
https://www.volyn24.com/news/126120-vidomij-volynskij-zhurnalistci-pomstylysia-za-material-pidpalom-budynku
https://imi.org.ua/news/politsiia-vidkryla-spravu-cherez-pohrozy-vbyvstvom-volyns-kiy-zhurnalisttsi/
Categories: Intimidation, Attack to Property
Source of violation: Unknown[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalist assaulted in Odessa, had sewage poured at her” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]7 May 2019 — Svitlana Pidpala, activist, journalist and blogger, was assaulted in Odessa’s Summer Theater were she was filming a public event. An unidentified person poured a bucket of sewage on Pidpala. Her equipment was damaged.
Link(s): https://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2019/05/7/7214411/
https://www.unn.com.ua/ru/news/1798498-v-odesi-aktivistku-oblili-fekaliyami-ta-nechistotami
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury, Attack to Property
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury, Attack to Property
Source of violation: Unknown[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalist falls into coma after assault” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
4 May 2019 — An unidentified person armed with a hammer assaulted journalist and blogger Vadim Komarov in the center of Cherkasy, IMI reported.
According to the National Police, Komarov was walking down the street, when an assailant hit him in the head several times and severly injured him. After that, the attacker fled the scene. Casual passers-by found the badly wounded journalist and called an ambulance at about 9 am. Komarov was operated on the local hospital. According to the doctors quoted on a local online news outlet Procherk, Komarov received an open craniocerebral trauma. The operation lasted two hours after which the journalist fell into a coma.
The police is investigating the case under the criminal article “assassination attempt”.
Komarov is known for his investigation of corruption among city authorities. The journalist has already been assaulted in the past. On 7 September 2016, an unknown person shot at Komarov in Cherkasy, but the bullet hit the wall.
UPDATE:
20 June 2019 — Vadim Komarov died in the hospital without regaining consciousness, IMI reported.
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed his deep sorrow following the death of Komarov. “I am deeply shocked by the death of Vadim Komarov, who was brutally attacked last month in Cherkasy and suffered from serious head injuries,” Désir said. “Vadim Komarov was a well-known media professional who reported about issues of public importance for many years, including by exposing corruption and uncovering abuses of power.” “I strongly condemn this horrendous attack. Those responsible for this crime must be identified and face justice. I reiterate my call on the Ukrainian authorities to complete the investigation in a vigorous and swift manner. It is regrettable that about one-and-a-half months after the attack the law enforcement have not yet identified the perpetrators nor reported any progress on the investigation. Violence and attacks against journalists are unacceptable and must stop. Impunity would be a victory for those who wanted to silence Komarov and to intimidate the press. All OSCE participating States should take effective and resolute actions to prevent and end impunity for such crimes,” Désir said. “I send my sincere condolences to his family, colleagues and friends,” the Representative said.Head of the National Union of Journalists Serhiy Tomilenko said the cause of the murder was the Komarov’s journalistic work. “The murder of Vadim Komarov is a crime against all journalists in general,” Tomilenko said. Also, Tomilenko called journalists for solidarity, because this “topic is important for the survival of a journalist profession in Ukraine.”
Sources:
https://www.osce.org/representative-on-freedom-of-media/423578
https://www.facebook.com/sergiy.tomilenko/posts/2237747729643412?__tn__=K-R
https://imi.org.ua/news/pomer-cherkas-kyy-zhurnalist-vadym-komarov/
https://imi.org.ua/news/u-cherkasakh-pobyly-zhurnalista-vadyma-komarova-vin-u-vazhkomu-stani/
http://procherk.info/news/7-cherkassy/72109-zhorstoko-pobito-cherkaskogo-zhurnalista
http://procherk.info/news/7-cherkassy/72195-rozsliduetsja-kriminalne-provadzhennja-za-faktom-zamahu-na-vbivstvo-vadima-komarova
Categories: Physical Assault/Injury, Death/Killing
Source of violation: Unknown[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Armed woman assaulted Odessa journalist” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]2 May 2019 — A retired woman armed with a knife tried to assault Olena Solomonova, Odessa.online correspondent, and knocked the phone out of her hands during a commemorative event in Odessa.
Link(s): https://odesa.depo.ua/rus/odesa/aktivisti-z-chervonimi-kulyami-potrolili-kulikovtsiv-20190502957301
https://imi.org.ua/news/v-odesi-na-zhurnalistku-napaly-z-nozhem-i23135
Categories: Attack to Property
Source of violation: Unknown[/vc_column_text][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1575992589423-00806ef6-3f10-4″ taxonomies=”8996″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
