Freedom of Speech Barometer for April 2023
In April, IMI experts recorded 10 crimes against freedom of speech in Ukraine. Five of them were committed by Russia and targeted media and journalists.
This is evidenced by the monthly monitoring "Freedom of Speech Barometer" by the Institute of Mass Information.
The crimes against media committed by Russia include murder and wounding of journalists, cybercrimes.
At the same time, IMI recorded five freedom of speech violations for which Ukrainian citizens are responsible. These include cases of obstruction, censorship, and restriction of access to public information.
The Ukrainian producer of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Bohdan Bitik, was killed by the Russian attack on Kherson on April 26. He was working together with the newspaper's correspondent Corrado Zunino, who was wounded in the attack.
In April, IMI recorded the deaths of five more media workers who had gone to the frontline to defend Ukraine and were killed in action:
Andriy Boyko, former cameraman at the Ivano-Frankivsk TRC "Vezha", soldier. Killed by the enemy's fire near Hulyaipole (Zaporizhia oblast) on April 6. Andriy voluntarily enlisted the Armed Forces in the first days of the full-scale war and served as the commander of the Dmytro Vitovsky Separate Brigade 102.
Vladyslav Dzikovsky, "Detector Media" system administrator, private, senior armored vehicle machine gunner who served in the Serhiy Kulchytsky operational battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine, was killed in Luhansk oblast in December 2022.
Dmytro Siryk, a presenter at the "Suspilne Donbas" branch and a soldier, died in Donetsk oblast on April 20. He was the host of "Peremotka" – an original program about music news and hits. After the full-scale invasion, he took his family – his son, parents, and girlfriend – to a safe place in Ukraine. A few weeks later, in March 2022, Dmytro Siryk was mobilized.
Oleksandr Bondarenko, soldier, journalist, and communications officer, was killed near Dibrova village (Luhansk oblast) on April 22; he served in the UAF TDF Brigade 112.
Volodymyr Mukan, soldier who worked as a journalist and editor at the "Gazeta Po-Ukrainsky", the "Kraina" magazine, and the "Gazeta.ua" before the full-scale war. Killed in Bakhmut while performing a combat mission on April 29, 2023.
In total, Russia's armed aggression resulted in the death of 56 media workers in Ukraine. Of those, nine died while reporting, 47 died as combatants or were killed by Russian shelling not while exercising their profession.
Several Ukrainian media outlets reported fake websites and online pages that mimicked their interface and logos and distributed disinformation.
Namely, a fake website imitating the online publication "Ukrainian Pravda" has appeared on the Internet and featured a fake column by the journalist, military officer Pavlo Kazarin. The "Ukrainian Pravda" contacted the SBU with a request to take action and believes that this is a Russian psyop aimed at discrediting the army and subverting trust in the Ukrainian leadership, both military and political.
The online media Obozrevatel reported that fake news about "the allies betraying us" were being distributed under their name. The fake posts purportedly by the Obozrevatel were being promoted on Facebook via paid-for advertising feature. The media outlet believes this to be a Russian psyop as well and has contacted the Security Service of Ukraine to take appropriate action.
Another media outlet, the Ukrinform, has reported that Russian propagandists were sharing a fake news report mimicking Ukrinform on social media. The fake news, designed to mimic the Ukrinform's layout, says that Ukraine has registered a draft bill banning taking photos and video at cemeteries, citing the Parliament's website as the source. Yet, the Ukrinform noted that this news was a fake and there has been no such report on their website.
The freedom of speech situation in Ukraine for which Ukrainian citizens are responsible
At the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an unknown man damaged the lighting equipment of the video camera used by an online media outlet's journalist to film a report. The police has opened a case under Part 1 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstructing the legal professional work of journalists). As IMI learned from their own sources, the affected journalist works at the online media outlet "Nasha Versia".
The Suspilne Kropyvnytsky filming crew were not allowed to attend an open court hearing at the Kirovsky District Court of Kropyvnytsky. The court staff's promise to invite them to the courtroom were not fulfilled. It was only after the fact that the journalists learned that the hearing had already been held, as the prosecutors working on this case started leaving the court.
An instance of censorship was recorded in Cherkasy oblast: the editor of the Talne newspaper "Kolos", Iryna Rohova, said that the deputy head of the Zvenyhorod district military administration (Cherkasy oblast), Oleksandr Dubovy, prohibited the local newspapers from any publishing articles critical of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church). According to her, Dubovy argues that such articles incite religious enmity in the country.
IMI reported two instances of restriction of access to public information in Chernivtsy and Rivne. The utility company "Chernivtsi Trolleybus Management" declined an online information request by "Molody Bukovynets" journalist Lyudmila Osadchuk. The lack of both an electronic and handwritten signature was cited as the reason for the refusal.
In Rivne, he online media "Chetverta Vlada" has filed a lawsuit with the Court of Appeal against the Rivne Regional Prosecutor's Office. The reason for this was the prosecutors' refusal to provide journalists with a copy of the investment agreement with a Rivne developer regarding the construction of houses for prosecutors on communal land.
Russia's crimes
1. Ukrainian producer for La Repubblica, Bohdan Bitik, killed by a Russian attack in Kherson
26.04.2023 The Russian attack on Kherson on April 26 killed the Ukrainian producer of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Bohdan Bitik, who was working together with the newspaper's correspondent Corrado Zunino. The newspaper reported this on its website.
According to IMI's sources in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Ukrainian man was part of the filming crew helmed by Corrado Zunino, who was wounded in the attack.
IMI's sources say that the Ukrainian had no bulletproof vest and was wearing only a vest with a "Press" nadge. The Italian correspondent, however, was wearing a bulletproof vest.
"We regard this situation as a war crime against journalists, committed by the Russians," said IMI executive Oksana Romaniuk.
According to the newspaper, the journalists were ambushed by Russian snipers near the bridge. Both had "Press" badges. According to Corrado, he was wearing a bulletproof vest with the inscription "Press".
"We passed three checkpoints, Bohdan talked to the Ukrainian military, they let us through without any issues. This was not a combat area. Then we were hit, I heard a hiss and saw Bohdan on the ground, he was not moving. I crawled out of the firing line. I ran until I saw a civilian car. I was covered in blood, they took me to the Kherson hospital. I have four wounds, but they gave me excellent treatment. I tried to call him several times. Bohdan, he did not pick up the phone. He was a great friend of mine," Corrado said.
Bohdan Bitik is survived by his wife and son.
According to IMI, Bohdan Bitik became the 54th media worker to die as a result of Russia's aggression (and the ninth media worker to die while performing journalistic work).
As reported by IMI, on April 26, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that their correspondent Corrado Zunino had been wounded in a Russian attack. At the time of the attack, he was with a fixer.
Law enforcers have started a pre-trial investigation into the wounding of Corrado Zunino, a reporter with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. A case for violation of the laws and customs of war (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) has been opened.
According to the investigation, on April 26, Russian troops opened fire in the area of the Antonivsky Bridge near Kherson, resulting in the death of a civilian. A foreign publication's correspondent who was working on a report about life in the city received a gunshot wound to the shoulder.
Injured journalists – 1
1. La Repubblica correspondent wounded by a Russian strike on Kherson
26.04.2023 Corrado Zunino, a correspondent for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, was wounded by a Russian strike on Kherson today, April 26. This was reported on the media outlet's website and announced by the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani.
The journalist was wounded in the shoulder during a drone attack. He was in the car with his fixer at the time.
According to the media outlet, Corrado was provided with assistance and is being treated in the Kherson hospital. As of now, there has been no news about the fate of his colleague.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Antonio Tajani, noted that Zunino was doing well and the Italian Embassy in Kyiv was monitoring him.
The Kherson RMA refused to disclose the details of the incident to IMI's regional representative.
Cyber crime – 3
1. Fake UP website with a made-up column by Kazarin appears on the Internet
10.04.2023 A fake website imitating the online publication "Ukrainian Pravda" has appeared on the Internet.
According to the domain verification service whois, the fake website with the domain pravda-ua.com was created as recently as February 12, 2023, through an American company.
The website contains several pages and simulates the interface and the logo of the UP.
Journalist Pavlo Kazarin pointed out that the clone website had posted a fake version of his column.
"Fake content posted on behalf of the 'Ukrainian Pravda' appears online every now and then. Visually, it copies the UP, the only difference being that instead of content there is some kind of panicmongering nonsense. Now they started writing fake columns purportedly by the UP's regular authors. Me, for example. The latest case is an attack on the TDF, signed with my name," Kazarin wrote.
The journalist advises readers to pay attention to the domain: "The 'Ukrainian Pravda's' domain is easily googled. If the domain of the article/news is different, then you are dealing with a fake".
He also added that he reporsts all his writings on social media. "If you see a column by Karazin which is not to be found on Kazarin's social media, then you are dealing with a fake. Our neighbors have decided to do a psyop. Baby's first disinformation," Kazarin wrote.
11.04.2023 Online media Obozrevatel reported a fake website that mimics the appearance of their website and spreads false news. The media asked the Security Service of Ukraine to take appropriate action.
Fake posts purportedly by the Obozrevatel are being promoted on Facebook via paid-for advertising feature.
Visually, the fake news pages are a perfect copy of the Obozrevatel website, copying the authors's data as well, but the website address is different.
The editors also point out that the difference lies in the "unintelligible presentation of information – typical for a Russian psyop, which comes specifically amidst the news about the UAF counteroffensive."
"Propagandists want to sow disappointment among Ukrainians, often the readers cannot distinguish original pages from their mirror versions. We note that in an attempt at panicmongering and smearing the leadership of Ukraine and our Defense Forces, the scammers use paid-for social media advertising wherein you click on a bright image and it takes you to a mirror website of a media outlet," the media writes.
As the editors note, if you click on the link on a different day from when it was "posted", you can immediately see that the site has not been updating: "All the news on it are dated with the same day and were posted around the time when the scammers were 'drawing up' their fake."
Also, false "reports" use blurred photos from the Internet which have nothing to do with the text of the fake articles. Such "articles" does not cite any sources, either.
Moreover, social media user Yuriy Konkevych noticed that the fakes are being spread on Facebook through paid advertising. He said that he has been encountering targeted advertising with the news about "our allies betraying us" while scrolling Facebook for several days. According to him, the scammers act in a classic manner: a funny caricature instead of a photo, a short text mentioning a Western publication and a link to the fake Obozrevatel page.
The editors have contacted the SBU, asking them to take appropriate action regarding the Russian psyop.
3. Russian propagandists distribute fake news report mimicking the Ukrinform
17.04.2023 Russian propagandists share a fake news report mimicking Ukrinform on social media networks and in the media. Ukrinform reported this on their website.
A screenshot of March 24 news item purportedly from the Ukrinform website has been shared in Russian Telegram channels, social networks such as Twitter, TikTok, Vkontakte, YouTube, as well as in mass media.
The fake news, designed to mimic the Ukrinform's layout, says that Ukraine has registered a draft bill banning taking photos and video at cemeteries, citing the Parliament's website as the source.
"This is followed by a peculiarly worded 'explanation' by some unnamed legislators that 'public coverage of the state of Ukrainian cemeteries can provide valuable intelligence information to the Russian army, as well as trigger a negative media buzz within the country itself," the media writes.
Ukrinform states that this news report is fake: "There has been no such news report on the Ukrinform website. This can be verified via the Web Machine online archive. Propagandists claim that the report was posted on March 24 at 19:24, but it is not so. On this day and time, a completely different piece of news was posted on the website," the editors note.
In addition, Ukrinform noted that since the start of the full-scale invasion, it has been writing the word "Russia" in lowercase.
"The propagandists did not take this into account and capitalized the name of their country, which also indicates this is a fake. Moreover, when reporting on draft bills, Ukrinform always indicates their number, which the Russians did not do when they made their fake," the report said.
The media also points out that such a draft bill is not to be found in the archive of draft bills registered by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Ukrinform notes that this is not the first time that Russian propagandists have forged screenshots to frame the news agency. Last time, they were spreading reports about three people dying at the "invincibility hub" in Kharkiv, with the authorities ordering the Ukrainian mass media to cover up the tragedy, but the fake news was debunked.
THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH SITUATION IN UKRAINE FOR WHICH UKRAINIAN CITIZENS ARE RESPONSIBLE
Physical aggression
Obstruction of legal journalistic work – 2
1. Reporter's equipment damaged at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
17.04.2023 An unknown man damaged the lighting equipment of the video camera used by an online media outlet's journalist to film a report at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
The law enforcers have opened a case for obstructing journalistic work, as reported on the website of the Kyiv Office of the National Police.
According to the police, a journalist from an online media outlet filed a statement with them regarding obstruction of legal professional work of journalists on Lavrska Street. An investigative team set out to the specified address.
At the site of the incident, the applicant informed the police that an unknown person had damaged his video camera's lighting equipment at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
The law enforcers established that the violator was a Volyn region native, born in 1974.
Based on this, investigators of the Pechersk police department has opened a criminal case under Part 1 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstructing the legal professional work of journalists). The sanction of the article provides for a fine of up to fifty tax-free minimum incomes of citizens, up to six months of arrest, or restriction of freedom for a term of up to three years.
As IMI learned from their own sources, the affected journalist works at the online media outlet "Nasha Versia".
2. Suspilne Kropyvnytsky reporters prevented from attending a court hearing
19.04.2023 On April 19, employees of the Kirovsky District Court of Kropyvnytsky prevented the Suspilne Kropyvnytsky film crew from attending an open court hearing. This was reported by the representative of IMI in the Kirovohrad region.
On this day, Judge Oleksiy Galagan was supposed to hear the case against Gas Distribution Networks employees whom the prosecution suspects of violating fire safety regulations, which caused a gas explosion in a high-rise building that killed a person.
Antonina Kreitor, head of the regional content production department at the Suspilne's Kropyvnytsky branch, told the IMI representative that Judge Galagan's secretary informed them that journalists would be invited to the courtroom at the start of the hearing. However, this did not happen. It was only after the fact that the journalists learned that the hearing had already been held, as the prosecutors working on this case started leaving the court.
"The court's manager Bohdan Onishchenko said that it was Judge Galagan's decision to not allow us to attend the hearing. In turn, Judge Galagan's secretary reported that Onishchenko, the manager, is the one who deals with reporter admission. We are currently preparing an appeal and an information request to the chair of the court in order to learn who gave the order not to admit journalists to an open hearing and on what grounds," Antonina Kreitor summarized.
The gas explosion in question occurred on February 2, 2022, in a high-rise building in Kropyvnytsky. It killed one of the house's residents. Another 71 people had to be evacuated from four damaged entrances. The prosecutors have initiated a probe under the article "Violation of legal fire safety requirements which led to the death of a person." Investigations and inspections have been ongoing until now.
Censorship. Information access
Censorship – 1
12.04.2023 The editor of the Talne newspaper "Kolos", Iryna Rohova, said that the deputy head of the Zvenyhorod district military administration (Cherkasy oblast), Oleksandr Dubovy, prohibited the local newspapers from any publishing articles critical of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church). The editor spoke to Ukrinform about this.
According to her, Dubovy argues that such articles incite religious enmity in the country.
"While martial law is in effect, we have to send the newspaper layout to the Zvenyhorod Military Administration for proofreading. However, the deputy head of the Zvenyhorod DMA, Oleksandr Dubovy, regularly declines articles criticizing the Moscow Church. This was the case last year, when we submitted a note on the Veselokut parish transitioning from the UOC MP to the OCU for proofreading. This was also the case yesterday, when our reader, former head of the district council, Anatoliy Kravchuk, sent us a letter criticizing the actions of the UOC MP leaders, Metropolitans Onufriy and Pavlo. Both times, Mr. Dubovy said that the articles were inciting religious enmity in the country," said Rohova.
Oleksiy Bahatelya, the head of the OCU parish in Buzhanka village, Zvenyhorod district, has said that the deputy head of the Zvenyhorod DSA, Oleksandr Dubovy, was a staunch supporter of the Moscow church. According to Bagatelya, Dubovy is an UOC MP churchwarden in Lysyanka village.
"When our village's parish decided to transition from the UOC MP to the OCU, Oleksandr Dubovy personally brought titushkas here and threatened that the villagers would be punished if they decide to submit to a different Church," Bagatelya said.
Oleksandr Dubovy himself believes that he is acting within the limits of current legislation.
"I always make decisions guided by the law and the interests of the community and take an impartial position. I believe that the articles you mentioned do violate the law, so the submissions to print them were declined. The head of the Zvenyhorod DMA, Yuriy Pikovsky, is of the same opinion as me," he told Ukrinform.
Zvenigorod DMA head, Yuriy Pikovsky, assured the journalist that his deputy was not telling the truth.
"Oleksandr Vasylyovych is bluffing. He coordinated some of his decisions with me, and did the rest independently. I know his position regarding the UOC MP. I am also aware of the radical attitude towards the Moscow Church in Talne. Obviously, once Easter is over, we will have to take certain action so that such situations do not happen again," he said.
The Cherkasy RMA claims that proofreading newspaper layouts is mentioned in the Law "On the Martial Law Regime".
"The editors send us the layouts of the newspapers, and we approve them based on whether they meet the safety restrictions. This is mentioned in the Law of Ukraine 'On the Martial Law Regime' – clause 11, part 1 of Article 8 – and is supposed to prevent information leaks that could be detrimental to security of the oblast and the state overall. Regional newspapers send their layouts to the Cherkasy RMA, district newspapers send them to the DMA," said the head of the Cherkasy RMA press office, Victoria Kurchenko.
Zvenyhorod district is one of the four districts of Cherkasy oblast. It includes the former Zvenyhorod, Lysyanka, Shpola, Talne, Katerynopil districts, and a part of the Korsun-Shevchenkivsky district.
Information access – 2
19.04.2023 The utility company "Chernivtsi Trolleybus Management" has not responded to an information request by "Molody Bukovynets" journalist Lyudmila Osadchuk since early April.
The journalist reported this on Facebook.
According to Osadchuk, she has been waiting for an response since the beginning of April instead of the five days prescribed by law.
"I did not ask for any classified information, just about the trolleybus administration personnel: how many drivers are needed, how many have been fired, what is the salary of trolleybus and bus drivers. I also asked them to share information about the administrative staff and their salaries. All this is documented by the Chernivtsi Trolleybus Management and providing a response in five days is not a problem. But somehow everything went wrong. I waited for an answer for over a week. And when I asked again, it turned out that my email was missing from their inbox. I'm sending a repeat request – and I'm waiting again," she wrote.
In her comment to an IMI representative, Lyudmila Osadchuk said that she had sent her request to the utility company's email address. After sending the repeat request, on the day of the legally established deadline, the journalist received a letter stating that the UC "Chernivtsy Trolleybus Management" could not consider her request, as it lacked an electronic signature or a hand-written signature.
"Then on April 11, I sent another, signed request. I'm waiting again. Today, the CTM replied that they had not seen my request because it was in the spam folder. So I am waiting for answers to my questions yet again," the journalist noted.
IMI lawyer Roman Holovenko noted that a hand-written signature is not required for a request sent via e-mail as a file.
"The Law on access to information requires the request to have a signature and a date only if the request is being submitted on paper (clause 3, part 5, article 19). And a request by e-mail is a 'different', non-written form of request, if you carefully read Part 3 of Art. 19 of the same law," explained Roman Holovenko.
2. Chetverta Vlada files appeal lawsuit against prosecutors for refusing them access to information
27.04.2023 The online media "Chetverta Vlada" has filed a lawsuit with the Court of Appeal against the Rivne Regional Prosecutor's Office. The reason for this was the prosecutors' refusal to provide journalists with a copy of the investment agreement with a Rivne developer regarding the construction of houses for prosecutors on communal land, the publication's website reports.
The editors note that recently, the Eighth Administrative Court of Appeal opened proceedings upon request by a "Chetverta Vlada" journalist, who appealed the Rivne District Administrative Court's ruling.
In March 2023, the judge of the District Administrative Court closed the lawsuit filed by the journalist against the Rivne Regional Prosecutor's Office. The prosecutors did not provide the journalists with the agreement outlining the way the houses should be built, explaining their actions with multiple reasons, mainly that the document contains classified information and is not of public significance.
"Chetverta Vlada" notes that while the trial was in progress, the Prosecutor's Office sent the journalist a copy of the contract, which was the reason for the district court's ruling, which declined the journalists' lawsuit. However, in the sent document, almost all the important information is redacted.
"The information about the terms of construction, about the subject of the agreement, about the obligations and rights of the parties, about the warranty period for the quality of the finished work, about the responsibility of the parties, about the term of the contract, and the signatures of the people who represented the parties was redacted," the publication notes.
The publication believes that the Prosecutor's Office is trying to hide socially significant information and therefore will defend the right to information – this time in the court of appeal.
Freedom of speech defense
The authorities' response to freedom of speech violations – 6
1. Police issues a suspicion notice to the Lavra priest who damaged reporters' camera
03.04.2023 The Kyiv police issued a suspicion notice to a UOC MP clergyman who had damaged the equipment of a reporting filming crew in the premises of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. This is reported on the website of the Kyiv Main Office of the National Police.
The police recalled that the incident had occurred on March 30, when a priest damaged a cameraman's equipment while he was filming a report.
According to the investigation, while the filming crew was at work, a representative of the clergy snatched the cameraman's microphone away and broke the camera’s mount.
The man (aged 41) has been notified of suspicion for committing a crime under Part 1 of Art. 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstructing the legal professional work of journalists).
The sanction of the article provides for a fine of up to fifty tax-free minimum incomes of citizens, up to six months of arrest, or restriction of freedom for a term of up to three years. The pre-trial investigation is underway.
As IMI reported, on March 30, Metropolitan of the UOC MP Pavlo Lebid tried to knock the microphone out of the hand of "Espreso" correspondent Valeria Pashko while speaking to journalists at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
The UOC MP priest shoved Suspilne correspondent Daria Nematian Zolbin as she tried to ask Metropolitan Pavlo a question, and broke the camera mount of cameraman Viktor Mozgovy.
A person in a cassock damaged the phone charger cable of "Telegraf" photoreporter Yan Dobronosov in the jostling at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, involving UOC MP Metropolitan Pavlo Lebid.
On the same day, March 30, 2023, Kyiv police opened a criminal case for obstructing journalistic work on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
Ukrainian media organizations have called on law enforcement bodies to objectively and impartially investigate the bullying of journalists that occurred near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra on March 30 and bring the perpetrators to justice.
2. Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra archdeacon to be tried for breaking Suspilne's camera
11.04.2023 On April 11, law enforcers submitted an indictment against the minister of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra of the Holy Dormition to the court for breaking the Suspilne filming crew's camera. This was reported by the press office of the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office.
The minister is charged with intentionally obstructing the legal professional work of journalists (Part 1 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The indictment against the suspect has been submitted to the court for an assesment of its merits.
According to the material of the proceedings, on March 30, 2023, journalists from Suspilne were filming a report on the premises of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. A representative (archdeacon) of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra of the Holy Dormition approached the cameraman, grabbed the microphone, broke the video camera mount, and threw it on the ground. The operator was unable to work after that.
The sanction of the article provides for a fine of up to 50 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens, up to six months of arrest, or restriction of freedom for up to three years.
As the IMI reported, on March 30, Metropolitan of the UOC MP Pavlo Lebid tried to knock the microphone out of the hand of "Espreso" correspondent Valeria Pashko while speaking to journalists at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
On April 3, the Kyiv police issued a suspicion notice to the UOC MP priest who damaged the media crew's equipment on the premises of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
Also, a UOC MP priest shoved Suspilne correspondent Daria Nematian Zolbin as she tried to ask Metropolitan Pavlo a question, and broke the camera mount of cameraman Viktor Mozgovy.
A person in a cassock damaged the phone charger cable of "Telegraf" photoreporter Yan Dobronosov in the jostling at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, involving UOC MP Metropolitan Pavlo Lebid.
On the same day, March 30, 2023, Kyiv police opened a criminal case for obstructing journalistic work on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
Ukrainian media organizations called on law enforcement bodies to objectively and impartially investigate the bullying of journalists that occurred near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra on March 30 and bring the perpetrators to justice.
11.04.2023 The Mykolaiv District Administrative Court obliged the Mykolaiv City Council to provide Oksana Orsach, a reporter at the "NikCenter" Investigative Journalism Center, with the information she had previously requested regarding the salaries, bonuses, and other additional payments received by Mayor Oleksandr Sienkovych, his deputies and assistants in 2022.
The court issued such a ruling on April 11, reports the IMI representative in Mykolaiv oblast.
On January 19, Oksana Orsach contacted to the Mykolaiv City Council, requesting data on the city officials' salaries, but the City Council withheld the information from her, citing the martial law as the reason.
The court stated that the information about the salaries of local self-government officials is public and access to it cannot be restricted. And martial law as such cannot be a reason for withholding or delaying the provision of public data.
"The defendant postponed the deadline for providing information until the end of the force majeure circumstances – the martial law in Ukraine. However, he did not explain how the introduction of martial law in Ukraine had made providing the requested information technically impossible," the court's ruling reads.
In the course of the litigation, a City Council representative tried to explain the delay in providing public information with the loss of the workplace computer where the relevant data was allegedly stored. The payroll of City Council employees is also kept on paper, and no documents have been reported missing.
The court ordered the Mykolayiv City Council to provide the journalist with the requested data immediately.
In her comment to an IMI represenataive, journalist Oksana Orsach said that the publication was preparing a report on how the work of the executive committee chair and department heads of the Mykolaiv City Council was being paid for during the war, whether they were receiving bonuses and material aid.
"However, our numerous requests were ignored: both in the departments themselves and in the City Council at large. It's funny that one of their 'excuses' for not responding was that we 'sent the request to the Mykolaiv City Council' and not to the 'Executive Committee of the Mykolaiv City Council'. This has become a systemic problem, the City Council was obviously not going to disclose the salary data," she said.
The journalist filed a lawsuit with the help of Human Rights Platform lawyers. "For this case, we chose the request about the salaries and bonuses of the Mayor, his deputies and assistants. The court decided that the martial law as such is not a valid reason to withhold public information from journalists. The judge did not take into account the explanation of the City Council representatives, who said that the requested data were allegedly stored on a computer that was missing. We hope that this case will also help other reporters to get access to public information, because now there are more cases when officials simply use the martial law in the country as an excuse not to provide answers to requests," said Oksana Orsach.
The journalist noted that she has not yet received any response to the court's decision from the City Council.
"So far, we have not seen any response from the City Council, either to the court's decision or to the reports on nearly 3 million hryvnias worth of equipment having gone missing from the City Hall, as it turned out during the litigation. We are waiting for them to provide us with the requested data, or else will try to file an appeal," said Oksana Orsach.
4. Suspicion notice issued to the man who broke a reporter's camera for filming at the Lavra
18.04.2023 Law enforcers have issued a suspicion notice to the Ukrainian citizen who broke the video camera used by an online media outlet's journalist to film a report at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra of the Holy Dormition, the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office reported.
According to the investigation, on April 17, a reporter working for an online media outlet was filming at a church shop located in the premises of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra of the Holy Dormition.
At that time, a man aged 48 who had volunteered to guard the premises approached the journalist.
"He tried to take the video recording equipment away from the reporter; subsequently, he physically broke off the camera mount and damaged the LED lamp. As a result of these unlawful actions, the journalist was unable to continue his legal professional work," the Prosecutor's Office reports.
The man has been notified of suspicion for deliberately obstructing the legal professional work of a journalist (Part 1 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The sanction of the article provides for a fine of up to 50 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens, up to six months of arrest, or restriction of freedom for a term of up to three years.
We remind you that on April 18, the Kyiv National Police reported that an unknown man damaged the lighting equipment of the video camera used by an online media outlet's journalist to film a report at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Investigators of the Pechersk police department have opened a criminal case under Part 1 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstructing the legal professional work of journalists).
As IMI learned from their own sources, the affected journalist works at the online media outlet "Nasha Versia".
5. Lutsk court imprisons ex-official for 5,5 years for embezzlement and assaulting a journalist
19.04.2023 The Lutsk City District Court (Volyn oblast) found the former Pidhaytsi village council official, Heorhiy Shtefanesa, guilty of embezzling budget funds and assaulting a journalist, sentencing him to five and a half years in prison.
The ruling was announced on April 19, the Volyn News Service reports.
The court also ordered the defendant to pay back over half a million hryvnias in redress to the village council.
Heorhiy Shtefanesa was tried for two incidents at once. One had to do with misappropriation, embezzlement of property, and taking possession of it through abuse of power on a large scale and upon organizing a criminal group (Parts 3 and 4 of Article 191, Part 3 of Article 27 of the Criminal Code), and the other was for obstructing the legal professional work of journalists (Part 1 Article 171 of the Criminal Code). The trial lasted for a year and a half.
Heorhiy Stefanesa pleaded not guilty and refused to testify.
Yet, according to the media, after listening to all the witnesses and examining the evidence, the court confirmed that Heorhiy Shtefanesa was fully guilty of the mentioned crimes. Also, the court saw no circumstances that could mitigate the sentence, seeing as the accused had made no attempts to compensate for damages, was not remorseful, etc.
Journalist Lyudmila Yavorska thanked everybody for the support. She said she realized that there would be an appeal, but "she is ready for a new fight, because I believe in justice now more than ever."
"There are many words that I should add, but I can't. I'm getting dizzy)) I am filled with an emotion that I would call: justice is real))). In addition to attacking me as a journalist, Shtefanesa was tried for mismanaging budget money during the road repairs in Pidhaytsi. The investigation revealed two such instances for UAH 1.5 million total and convicted him for that. But I want to stress: Shtefanesa's family had not just two incidents, but 210 tenders worth UAH 60 million. Therefore, the prison is well-deserved," she wrote.
Speaking to IMI, Lyudmila Yavorska commented on the court ruling as follows: "The punishment should always ensure that the criminal learns their lesson and can do better. That those like him are too afraid to commit new crimes, no longer confident of their impunity. In Shtefanesa's case, no milder punishment would have made him even think about it. During the two years of the trial, he not only never apologized, he openly demonstrated that he did think himself guilty. At the same time, he refused to provide any evidence or explain his behavior."
She also said that she had faced a lot of obstacles after the criminal case for the assault was opened.
"Once a police officer demanded that I show the state register of journalists so that he could know for sure that I was a journalist. After that, at all the procedures related to the investigation, I asked him to introduce himself and show me the register of investigators, so that I would know for sure that he was not an impostor. In fact, it was all rather bleak. Moreover, the incident happened during the police reform and the liquidation of district departments, so I can't even count how many times my case was transferred somewhere and the investigation started going in circles,» said Lyudmila Yavorska.
As reported by IMI, on January 4, 2021, in the village of Pidhaytsi, Volyn oblast, the project manager of the Pidhaytsi village council, Heorhiy Stefanesa, threw his fists at the reporter Lyudmila Yavorska, who came to thePidhaytsi village council to get comments from the deputies regarding the road works on one of the streets, as well as to file an information access request.
The Volyn police opened a criminal case for obstruction – Part 2 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
6. Portnov wins lawsuit against "Skhemy", called a "journalist" by the court – LIGA.net
21.04.2023 The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv satisfied the lawsuit filed by ex-deputy head of the President’s Administration, Andriy Portnov, against Natalia Sedletska, the editor and host of the investigative program «Skhemy» and several other mass media, regarding the defense of honor and business reputation.
The LIGA reports this, citing the court's March 2023 ruling.
According to the court, the reports about Portnov's alleged involvement in setting fire to the car of the «Skhemy» driver in 2020 "creates the impression that Portnov is a criminal."
In October 2019, Portnov posted the personal data of Borys Mazur, the driver of the «Skhemy» program, on his Telegram channel. The editors saw this as direct pressure and thought that the arson had to do with Portnov leaking their driver’s personal data. Mazur's car was burned down by unknown persons on August 17, 2020.
In September 2020, Portnov filed a lawsuit against Sedletska and several mass media – the NV, the Hromadske, the Priamyi, and Channel 5 – for allegedly spreading «untrue» information about him.
In its ruling, the court called the media outlets’ reports on Portnov's alleged involvement in setting the car on fire "unreliable." The ruling states that the journalists manipulated the public opinion and "created a negative impression" of the man.
According to the filings, the reports on Portnov was "unreasonably negative" and "creates an impression that he is a criminal», as it «interferes with the assessment of his personal, business, and professional qualities, as the plaintiff is a businessman, a professional lawyer.»
The judge believes that Portnov has been «doing journalistic work» for many years, therefore such reports "negatively affect the assessment of his qualities in the eyes of the public.»
As a result, the court satisfied Portnov's claim and found the reports about his alleged involvement in the arson to be "unreliable".
The court ordered the above-mentioned media outlets to refute the false reports after the decision enters into force. The decision of the Pechersk Court can be contested in the court of appeal.
The judge who ruled in favor of Portnov was Oleksiy Sokolov.
As reported by IMI, on August 17, 2020, in Brovary (Kyiv oblast), unknown persons set fire to the car of the journalistic investigative program «Skhemy»; the car belonged to the program’s driver – a member of the filming crew, Boris Mazur.
The Kyiv oblast police opened a case over setting fire to the "Skhemy" driver’s care. The event was classified as intentional destruction of property.
On August 26, the police detained the man suspected of setting fire to the "Skhemy" car. Two of the four suspects have been declared wanted.
After the suspects were arrested, Andriy Portnov posted a photo of the ID that was allegedly found during a search in the case of the "Skhemy" car fire. It was an expired press ID of a freelance correspondent for the newspaper of the «Solidarnist. The Petro Poroshenko’s Bloc» party.
On August 26, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine assumed that Andriy Portnov could have received the case files on the "Skhemy" car arson after an information leak.
In November 2019, Portnov started hosting a program on "112 Ukraine" and claimed that he was now a journalist. Earlier, Portnov had said that he would get a journalist's license in order to "officially monitor» media workers.
The Council for the Protection of Freedom of Speech and the Rights of Journalists under the President of Ukraine condemned the pressure on the "Skhemy" reporters by the ex-deputy head of the President’s Administration, Andriy Portnov, and urged the latter not to use the journalist's license.
The journalist community's response – 1
03.04.2023 Ukrainian media organizations call on law enforcement bodies to objectively and impartially investigate the bullying of journalists that occurred near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra on March 30 and bring the perpetrators to justice. This is said in the organizations' statement.
Representatives of the media community remind that this is not the first incident involving the "heroes" of this event when journalists were threatened and in some cases physically affected while trying to get a comment.
Here is the full statement:
"We, representatives of Ukraine's media field, are deeply concerned with the frank attempt of obstructing the work of journalists which took place near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra on March 30, 2023.
This is not the first incident involving some 'heroes' of this event when journalists were threatened, and in some cases physically affected, while trying to get a comment.
Such an event in the midst of Ukraine's capital looks especially cynical coming as thousands of domestic and foreign journalists display heroism by covering the crimes of the Russian-Ukrainian war at the risk of their lives. At the same time, it must be stated that the very mention of this war and any attempt to hear their assessment of the events trigger aggression towards the reporters on the part of the UOC representatives. And this time, at least four filming crews (Suspilne, Espreso, Pryamy, Channel 5) reported facing obstruction of their professional work during the March 30 clashes at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to the police. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra abbot Pavlo (Lebid) is known for his numerous attempts to obstruct the work of journalists, in particular in 2011 and 2021.
This time, after hearing threats, the journalists contacted the police. The Pechersk police department has opened a case under Art. 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for obstruction of the professional work of journalists. We, representatives of Ukrainian media organizations, call on law enforcement bodies to objectively and impartially investigate the unlawful acts in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Freedom of speech and conscience are valuable assets of Ukrainian democracy; attacks on our values and civil liberties is never acceptable, especially in wartime.
The Media Movement
Serhiy Tomilenko, head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine
Serhiy Shturkhetsky, on behalf of the Committee of the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine
As the IMI reported, on March 30, Metropolitan of the UOC MP Pavlo Lebid tried to knock the microphone out of the hand of "Espreso" correspondent Valeria Pashko while speaking to journalists at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
Also, a UOC MP priest shoved Suspilne correspondent Daria Nematian Zolbin as she tried to ask Metropolitan Pavlo a question, and broke the camera mount of cameraman Viktor Mozgovy.
A person in a cassock damaged the phone charger cable of "Telegraf" photoreporter Yan Dobronosov in the jostling at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, involving UOC MP Metropolitan Pavlo Lebid.
On the same day, March 30, 2023, Kyiv police opened a criminal case for obstructing journalistic work on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
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