Freedom of Speech Barometer for July 2024

The Institute of Mass Information experts recorded 16 freedom of speech violations in Ukraine in July, according to the monthly IMI monitoring “Freedom of Speech Barometer”.

Russia's crimes (nine cases) inlcuded wounding journalists, legal pressure, and broadcasting propaganda.

Three journalists were injured by Russian shelling. Namely, two photographers from Kharkiv were wounded by Russian artillery shelling in the Toretsk district of Donetsk oblast on July 19. Olha Kovalyova received shrapnel wounds in the axillary, supraclavicular, suprathoracic areas and the arm, and a ribcage fracture. She was hospitalized. Krasnoshchok received a concussion. That day, the photographers were working with UAF artillerypeople.

On July 11, a videographer of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, Ihor Zahnoy, was injured while filming the aftermath of an artillery strike on a Kherson residential neighborhood.

Freedom of speech in Ukraine in July 2024

Russian courts convicted four Ukrainian journalists in absentia:

• Dmytro Gordon was sentenced to 14 years in prison (a court in Moscow convicted him of calls for a war of aggression, inciting hatred with violent threats, public appeals to justify terrorism, and spreading "fakes" about the Russian army, motivated by political hatred);
• Fahrudin Sharafmal was sentenced to seven years in prison, convicted of "inciting hatred, rehabilitating Nazism and calls for extremism."
• Oleksandr Prepodobny was sentenced to to eight years in prison in absentia under the law on "fakes" about the Russian army.
• Natalya Moseychuk was sentenced to five years in prison for "inciting hatred and enmity".

The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has launched the propagandistic "Orthodox radio" Vera ("Faith") in the occupied Melitopol (Zaporizhzhia oblast). Russian propagandists claim that the radio station is "intended to unite believers, helping them find the most important things in life – faith, hope, and love."

The IMI also recorded 7 freedom of speech violations not related to Russia's war on Ukraine. These included assault, death threats, obstructions to reporting, limiting access to public information, cyber bullying.

The attacks on journalists committed by Ukraine's citizens happened in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. In Kherson, an unknown man attacked the MOST reporter Olena Hnitetska. She was filming the impact of Russian shelling in the city when a man on a bicycle approached her swearing and started threatening her, demanding that she put down the camera. In her opinion, the man could have gotten annoyed because he happened to be in the frame, even though he would be barely noticeable there.

In Zaporizhzhia, journalist Kateryna Klochko was attacked by a participant in a rally against "unjust power cuts". According to Kateryna, the attacker did not like the fact that she was not filming the car blocked by the protesters and demanded that she film the people who did it. When the journalist refused to do so, the woman grabbed the journalist by the arm, pushed her and forcibly turned her towards the car.

"Alternatyva.org" chief editor (Odesa oblast) Roman Varshanidze was threatened to be sent to the front line. An unknown man called him and claimed to be a Defense Intelligence representative. According to the journalist, that day he worked at a medical institution in Ovidiopil, where he had an unpleasant work-related conversation with the chief doctor.

In Kyiv, the police barred some journalists from reporting on the work of rescuers following the Russian shelling strike on the children's hospital "Okhmatdyt". This was reported by Kamila Hrabchuk. The police refused to explain the reasons for the refusal, while accusing them of wanting to make a scoop out of chlidrens' blood.

Read the full monitoring below:

RUSSIA'S CRIMES

Wounding journalists – 3

1. Oblast Military Administration cameraman wounded in Kherson

11.07.2024 In the evening of July 11, a videographer of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, Ihor Zahnoy, was injured while filming the aftermath of an artillery strike on a Kherson residential neighborhood.

This was reported to the Institute of Mass Information representative in Kherson oblast by the OMA.

"The incident took place at approximately 18:00 in the Dnipro district. Policemen, rescuers and utility workers, as well as our cameraman, arrived at the site of the strike. After that, the Russians fired again, dropping explosives from a drone. Ihor had an aquabarotrauma," said Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, head of the OMA's Internal and Information Policy Department.

An employee of the communal rescue squad was injured together with the videographer.

Ihor Zahnoy captured the moment of the enemy's strike on video.

2. Kharkiv photographer Olha Kovalyova injured by Russian fire in Donetsk oblast

19.07.2024 Kharkiv photographer, project manager at the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers, Olha Kovalyova, came under Russian artillery fire with her colleague Vladyslav Krasnoshchok in the Toretsk district of Donetsk oblast on July 19, reports the UAPP.

The photographers were working with UAF artillerymen. That day, the military fired several rounds at the enemy and hid in a dugout together with the journalists.

As Vladyslav Krasnoshchok says, while they were in the dugout with the soldiers, the Russians started firing back. According to him, 12 shots hit the field next to the positions, and the 13th fell right into the dugout.

Olha Kovalyova received shrapnel wounds in the axillary, supraclavicular, suprathoracic areas and the arm, and a rib cage fracture. She was hospitalized. Krasnoshchok and the soldiers received concussions.

"I have three shrapnel wounds. Two shell fragments were taken out from my body. All of them were near large blood vessels. However, the medics are currently not taking the risk of removing the third fragment, so as not to damage something. Currently, my right hand does not move at all," Olha said.

The military provided first aid to the photographer, then evacuated her to the hospital.

Olha Kovalyova said that the military medevac vehicle took her to the nearest field hospital, then to the military hospital in Pokrovsk, and then to a civilian hospital, where two of the three fragments were removed. Now she is in a hospital in Kharkiv. She is currently stable.

"Fortunately, the others who were in the dugout are safe. I was injured because I was sitting in the corner near the pipe – makeshift ventilation outlet, and the fragments flew out of it. I was saved by the bulletproof vest and the helmet. The shrapnel pierced the unprotected parts. It's a pity that this happened on the first day of our trip," Olha said.

3. Kharkiv photographer Vladyslav Krasnoshchok injured by Russian fire in Donetsk oblast

19.07.2024 Kharkiv photographer Vladyslav Krasnoshchok came under Russian artillery fire with his colleague Olha Kovalyova in the Toretsk district of Donetsk oblast on July 19, reports the UAPP.

The photographers were working with UAF artillerymen. That day, the military fired several rounds at the enemy and hid in a dugout together with the journalists.

As Vladyslav Krasnoshchok says, while they were in the dugout with the soldiers, the Russians started firing back. According to him, 12 shots hit the field next to the positions, and the 13th fell right into the dugout.

Olha Kovalyova received shrapnel wounds in the axillary, supraclavicular, suprathoracic areas and the arm, and a rib cage fracture. She was hospitalized. Krasnoshchok and the soldiers received concussions.

"I have three shrapnel wounds. Two shell fragments were taken out from my body. All of them were near large blood vessels. However, the medics are currently not taking the risk of removing the third fragment, so as not to damage something. Currently, my right hand does not move at all," Olha said.

The military provided first aid to the photographer, then evacuated her to the hospital.

Olha Kovalyova said that the military medevac vehicle took her to the nearest field hospital, then to the military hospital in Pokrovsk, and then to a civilian hospital, where two of the three fragments were removed. Now she is in a hospital in Kharkiv. She is currently stable.

"Fortunately, the others who were in the dugout are safe. I was injured because I was sitting in the corner near the pipe – makeshift ventilation outlet, and the fragments flew out of it. I was saved by the bulletproof vest and the helmet. The shrapnel pierced the unprotected parts. It's a pity that this happened on the first day of our trip," Olha said.

Legal pressure – 4

1. Russian court sentences Dmytro Gordon to 14 years in prison in absentia

01.07.2024 A court in Russia sentenced Dmytro Gordon, the owner of the media outlet "Gordon", to 14 years in prison. The judgement was passed in absentia by the Western District Military Court No. 2 in Moscow on July 1, report the Russian media outlets Meduza and Mediazona.

Gordon was convicted of:

• calls for a war of aggression (Part 2 of Article 354 of the Criminal Code);
• inciting hatred with violent threats (paragraph "A" of Part 2 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code);
• public appeals to justify terrorism (part 2 of Article 205.2);
• spreading "fakes" about the Russian army, motivated by political hatred (paragraph "D" of part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code).

The case against Gordon was open in response to his video address, published in March 2022, "Down with Putin and Lukashenka – Ukraine has already won!". In his address, he addressed the Russians and Belarusians, speaking about the "large-scale war" on Ukraine triggered by the Russian Federation, the shelling strikes on Ukrainian cities. He said that Ukraine has won, the whole world united to help Ukraine and introduced sanctions that "cut the Russians off from the entire civilized world." He called on Russians to take to the streets of their cities and say "No to war" and "no to Putin!"

"In this situation, when it's not Ukraine whose days are numbered, but you, Russians, you should go to the streets of your cities and say 'No to war!', 'No to Putin!' Today, Ukraine is fighting not only for itself, but also for you, for a free Russia. Thousands of corpses of Russian boys are scattered across Ukrainian fields and roads. They lay there, and dogs are eating them. ... Russians, Belarusians, go outside, bomb these scumbags so that they leave quicker, otherwise these scumbags will be bombing you," said Gordon in his video address.

The indictment states: "Gordon, who feels hatred for the current president of the Russian Federation and has an extremely negative assessment of the SMO (Russia's term for the war on Ukraine – Ed.), had the intention of calling for the deposition of the Russian President. In fulfillment of this plan, Gordon posted a statement on his YouTube channel calling to depose Putin in retaliation for his political or public activities."

According to the indictment, Gordon also "called on the United States to start an aggressive war on Russia with the use of nuclear weapons."

In March 2022, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a case against Gordon for public calls for a war of aggression; inciting nation-based hatred or enmity, and publicly spreading false information about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces.

Gordon was added to Russia's list of organizations and individuals considered to be involved in extremist activities or terrorism. In September 2022, the Ministry of Justice of Russia added him to the list of "foreign agents".

On July 19, 2022, Russia declared Dmytro Gordon wanted. A Russian court arrested him in absentia.

2. Russia sentences Channel 24 host Fahrudin Sharafmal to 7 years in prison in absentia

26.07.2024 A court in Russia sentenced Ukrainian journalist and Channel 24 host Fahrudin Sharafmal to seven years in prison in absentia, convicting him of "inciting hatred, rehabilitating Nazism and calls for extremism."

The ruling was passed by the Moscow City Court on July 26, reports Mediazona.

According to the Russian investigation, on March 15, 2022, Sharafmal publicly called on Ukrainians to mass murder "citizens of the Russian Federation, including children" on Channel 24.

"He drew on the ideology of Nazi criminals to justify his calls, namely that of Adolf Eichmann, whose image he displayed on the air," noted the Russian investigative committee. Sharafmal issued an apology the following day after the broadcast.

In April 2022, Rosfinmonitoring added him to the list of organizations and individuals considered to be involved in extremist activities or terrorism.

Fahrudin Sharafmal / Farid Sharafmal is the author and host of the YouTube channel "Farid Speaks". He is also an author and host of Channel 24's analyrical programming team.

3. Russia sentences Ukrainian journalist Oleksandr Prepodobny sentenced to 8 years in prison

29.07.2024 A court in Moscow (Russia) has sentenced Ukrainian journalist Oleksandr Prepodobny to eight years in prison in absentia for a "fake" article about the Russian army.

The judgement was passed by the Basmanny District Court of Moscow on July 29, reports Mediazona.

Political scientist Abbas Gallyamov was sentenced to the same penalty under this article. Both were banned from running websites for four years after serving the term.

The Russian prosecution insisted that on April 9, 2022, in an interview with the YouTube channel "Hroshi" (a special project of the TV channel "1+1"), the political scientist talked about the "destruction of municipalities and the killing of civilians in Bucha and Kramatorsk." He was accused of promoting fake news about the Russian army. Gallyamov was on the air with two journalists, one of whom was Oleksandr Prepodobny.

Gallyamov's lawyer Alan said in the debate that the investigation did not prove the political scientist's guilt, but simply stated its position regarding the interview, and that "such an approach to evidence" may as well be applied to cases of "generally criminal direction".

Prepodobny's defence attorney insisted that the defendant is a citizen of Ukraine, and therefore, as a journalist, he is obliged to rely on the statements by his Ministry of Defense, and not the Russian Ministry of Defense, on whose position the investigation relies.

The persecution of the political scientist, who was Vladimir Putin's speechwriter in 2008–2010, was reported in March 2023, when Mediazona found his name in the MIA's wanted persons database. In February 2023, Russia's Ministry of Justice declared Gallyamov a "foreign agent".

Oleksandr Prepodobny was chief of sociological investigations at the TV channel "1+1", the project "Hroshi", and hosted the projects "Jedi" ("2+2") and "Agents of Influence" (NTN).

4. Russian court sentences TV anchor Natalya Moseychuk to 5 years in prison in absentia

31.07.2024 The court in Moscow (Russia) sentenced Natalya Moseychuk, a TV anchor at the Ukrainian TV channel "1+1" to five years in prison for "inciting hatred and enmity".

The judgement was passed in absentia by the Basmanny Court of Moscow on July 31, reports Mediazona.

The case against Moseichuk was opened over a March 20, 2022 livestream when, according to the Russian investigation, she "made statements contemptuous of Russians and justified violence against them." She was also accused of "inciting hatred".

The TV host responded to another shelling strike on Ukraine on the United News telethon. She reminded the Russian troops and their relatives of responsibility. In particular, Natalya Moseychuk said that the wives of Russian soldiers should be "afraid and understand that sooner or later" they would be widowed. She advised the fiancées of Russian pilots to "find themselves some black veils."

The Basmanny court began trying the case against the TV host in absentia on May 7, 2023.

In July 2023, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs declared 1+1 news anchor Natalya Moseychuk wanted. Russia's investigation committee opened a case against Moseychuk for "calling for violence against Russian pilots and their relatives." She was accused of "making death threats to Russian pilots and their relatives while on air" and "expressing a misanthropic attitude and uttering real threats."

On March 20, 2022, the Russian Telegram channel "Troika" announced a "hunt" for Moseychuk, and by the end of that day, the channel leaked the TV anchor's personal data.

Shutting down Ukrainian broadcasting and streaming Russian propaganda instead – 2

1. Russia launches ROC-affiliated "Orthodox radio" in Melitopol

20.07.2024 The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has launched the propagandistic "Orthodox radio" Vera ("Faith") in the occupied Melitopol (Zaporizhzhia oblast). The propaganda website "Zaporozhskoe Agentstvo Novostei" and some Telegram channels working in the Zaporizhia oblast TOT, reported this on July 20.

The ROC priest Maxim Smirnov spoke to the propagandists about the radio station opening. He announced that the radio will "preach the Gospel, broadcast stories about spiritual heritage, programs on history and culture, tradition and modernity, on kindness and mercy, as well as literary works, the best domestic and foreign music."

The station is "built following the rules of modern FM broadcasting" and is "intended to unite believers, helping them find the most important things in life – faith, hope, and love," write the propagandists.

The propagandistic Russian radio Vera entered the Russian FM range in September 2014 and currently broadcasts in 127 cities. Its stated mission is "teaching the foundations of the Christian worldview, cultural and historical education." It broadcasts music, talk shows and original programs: "Gospel Day by Day", "Family Stories with Tutta Larsen", "Names of Mercy", "Meeting a Masterpiece", "Light Evening", etc. The studio's guests are Orthodox priests and laypeople, cultural figures, heads of charities, teachers, psychologists, public figures."

The occupiers point out that the radio station works on donations from private individuals, foundations and curious listeners. According to the propagandists, this is a private non-commercial cultural and educational project, "created with the blessing of the Russian Orthodox Church leader."

The radio's website states that it was founded by an autonomous non-profit "Information Center for Radio, Art, and Culture 'Faith, Hope, Love'". According Russia's open registers, it was licensed in 2012 in Moscow (Russia) and its founder has ties to two more Russian media organizations.

There are 12 FM frequencies used by propaganda radio stations in temporarily occupied Melitopol (Zaporizhzhia oblast). Two of them are occupied by "ZaRadio", which is part of the media holding "ZaMedia", created by the Russian propagandist Alexander Malkevich. The propaganda outlet "Radio Krym" and multiple Russian national radio stations such as "Radio Russia" also speak in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia oblast.

Earlier, Russian propagandists recently announced the opening of another radio station called "Yug Molody" in the temporarily occupied part of Zaporizhia oblast. The station is set to target Ukrainian youth.

2. Hromadske radio unavailable in Kherson due to Russian shelling

31.07.2024 Hromadske Radio's transmission equipment in Kherson has been damaged by Russian shelling, which resulted in the broadcasting being disabled, the Hromadske Radio technicians report on the website.

Experts are assessing the damage. The editors promise to report when the broadcasting is restored.

The Russian troops targeted Kherson city and the oblast on the night of July 31, killing one person and injuring 4 others.

As reported by IMI, earlier, Hromadske Radio suffered a DDoS attack that started on the night of May 12. The attack occurred in two waves and reached 84.22 million requests at its peak.

CRIMEA – 2

1. Russian court in Crimea upholds fining the newspaper Qirim for "discrediting the RFAF"

17.07.2024 The Russia-installed Kyiv District Court of Simferopol dismissed the appeal by the newspaper Qirim and upheld the ruling to fine the entity 300 thousand rubles (approximately 140,230 hryvnias) for "discrediting the Russian Federation Armed Forces," reports the public initiative "Crimean Solidarity", citing the lawyer Liliya Gemeci.

The newspaper was fined for a post on their website. A total of four administrative cases were opened against the editorial team's members.

Center for Countering Extremism operative V. Korenevsky opened two cases against Qirim the legal entity for "discrediting Russia's armed forces and misrepresenting evidently false information as truth." Two other cases target the founder and director of the newspaper, Seyran Ibrahimov.

The chief editor Bekir Mamutov also has two cases opened against him over the same posts on the newspaper's website

The post in question is an essay by the Crimean Tatar Qurultayı member Ali Özenbaş explaining why Crimeans should take no part in Russia's "special operation" in Ukraine.

Lawyer Liliya Gemeci notes that the administrative report drawn up against the newspaper for this essay was reviewed to verify the jurisdiction. Instead of the Kyiv District Court of Simferopol, the case was supposed to be tried by the Simferopol District Court.

There were also changes made to the protocol after it was filed, which violated the order of administrative proceedings.

The defense also stressed that Ali Özenbaş's essay was incorrectly translated. To their complaint, the defense attached translations of Crimean Tatar words from online dictionaries, which are "quite limited," Gemeci emphasizes. The translator was not warned about their liability for deliberately false translation.

According to Gemeci, there were similar errors in Bekir Mamutov's case, and the court passed the report back to eliminate them. However, during the re-drafting of the report, the translator was warned about their rights and obligations as per Article 17.9 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which makes no mention of rights and obligations for deliberately false translation.

Gemeci stresses that in both cases the translations do not meet the legal requirements and the cases should be dismissed due to the lack of corpus delicti. She plans to file a cassation appeal.

The judgement by the Kyiv District Court will soon enter into force, and the newspaper has 60 days to pay a fine of 300,000 rubles.

"The amount is significant and unsustainable for a national media outlet. So not just the newspaper's subscribers, but also all of our people should unite to help pay this fine," said the lawyer.

In late May of this year, two cases against Qirim were opened for "discrediting Russia's armed forces and misrepresenting evidently false information as truth." According to Center E (the CCE), Bekir Mamutov "spread information aimed at discrediting the deployment of the Russian Armed Forces for the purpose of defending the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, international peacekeeping and maintaining security within the framework of the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine." In this way, according to operative Korenevsky, the newspaper "expressed disagreement with the conduct of the SMO" and committed a crime under Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

On June 7, the Kyiv District Court of Simferopol fined the editors of the Crimean Tatar newspaper Qirim 300,000 rubles (approximately 140,230 hryvnias) for "discrediting" the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

As IMI reported, as of June 4, 2024, the Russian Federation has unlawfully imprisoned 218 people, at least 16 of whom are journalists, citizen journalists and bloggers.

2. Crimean citizen journalist Seyran Saliyev assigned harsher imprisonment conditions by Russia

25.07.2024 Crimean Tatar activist and citizen journalist Seyran Saliyev has been assigned harsher conditions while serving his sentence in the Tula Region prison No. 4 (Russia).

The prisoner's wife, human rights activist Mumine Saliyeva reported this on Facebook and shared the details with ZMINA.

She recounts receiving a reply as late as on July 24 saying that on June 20 Seyran Saliyev had "repeatedly violated the prescribed order of serving his sentence" and the prison's commission ruled to send him to a higher security block.

Mumine Saliyeva told the human rights group that within this year, her husband has been sent to a solitary confinement cell (SHIZO) several times. Each time he stayed there for 15 days for "dress code violation". She explained that after being sent into solitary confinement several times, a person is already considered a "repeat offender" in the prison. After that, Seyran was assigned harsher conditions of serving his sentence.

Mumine Saliyeva says that detention in such conditions can last up to nine months. A person who kept in harsh conditions stays in minimum contact with their relatives.

According to her, her husband now has to submit a new written application to call his family and wait for it to be approved by the prison administration every time. He is now allowed only two long dates per year as opposed to three.

"I consider these actions initiated by the special service (the Russian FSB – Ed.) and perpetrated by the prison administration as pressure exerted on my husband. Seyran's case was fabricated for exclusively political motives and upon demand from above, which continues to be fulfilled even after the judgement, and the law will be weaponized for exerting pressure and committing crimes," Mumine stressed.

She says that she will appeal to judicial and state authorities, as well as to human rights institutions and public commissions.

The woman urged journalists to make the situation public and appealed to the audience for legal and public support.

Seyran Saliev is a linguist specializing in the Turkish and Crimean Tatar languages. Before his arbitraty arrest, he worked as a tour guide and was a citizen journalist for Crimean Solidarity.

On October 11, 2017, the Russian FSB detained six Crimean Tatars in the temporarily occupied Bağçasaray: Timur Ibrahimov, Marlen (Suleyman) Asanov, Memet Belyalov, Seyran Saliyev, Server Zekiryaev, and Ernes Ametov.

On September 16, 2020, the Southern District Military Court of Rostov-on-Don (Russia) passed the judgement in the second "Hizb ut-Tahrir" case in Bağçasaray. The Crimean Muslims were sentenced to 13 to 19 years in prison. Seyran Saliyev, a Crimean Tatar convict, was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

On March 14, 2021, the Appellate Military Court in Vlasykha almost completely dismissed complaints by the defense. A total of over 45 court hearings were held in the case.

Marlen Asanov's, Memet Belyalov's, Server Zekiryaev's, Timur Ibrahimov's, Server Mustafayev's and Edem Smailov's terms in the high security prison terms were left unchanged. The court dropped one charge against Seyran Saliyev, reducing his sentence by one year – to 15 years.

Seyran Saliyev is one of the Ukrainian media workers detained by Russia.

THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH SITUATION IN UKRAINE FOR WHICH UKRAINIAN CITIZENS ARE RESPONSIBLE

PHYSICAL AGGRESSION

Beatings, assault – 2

1. Unknown man attacks MOST journalist in Kherson; identified by journalists

08.07.2024 MOST journalist Olena Hnitetska was attacked and threatened by an unknown man while filming in Kherson.

The journalist reported this to the Institute of Mass Information representative in Kherson oblast.

The incident happened in the evening of July 8 in downtown Kherson.

"I was filming the main building of the Kherson State University, which was damaged by Russian shelling, when a man on a bicycle came up to me swearing and started threatening me and running at me and demanding that I put down the camera. I ran away from him and asked another man who was walking by to call the police. This scared the attacker off, and he ran away," Olena said.

In her opinion, the man got annoyed because he happened to be in the frame.

"He got into the frame from afar, but he would be barely noticeable there. Moreover, in editing, we always remove people who are against being filmed in public places from our videos and photos," added Olena Hnitetska.

At the time of the attack, she was wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet with PRESS badges, so the attacker clearly saw that he was obstructing a journalist's work.

Olena Hnitetska filed a statement with the police, but at the time of writing this news story, it has not yet been entered into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations.

Meanwhile, local journalists found out that the attacker's name was Mykola Koychev. In 2014–2018, a person with this surname was given a permit by the Kherson police to carry a non-lethal weapon due to allegedly being a journalist.

In 2018, Kateryna Handziuk posted a long list of two hundred people who received a right to carry non-lethal weapons in this way, but the list only included three media workers. At the same time, the man who allegedly attacked the journalist was on that list.

2. Zaporizhzhia journalist attacked by an "unjust power cuts" protester

19.07.2024 061.ua photojournalist Kateryna Klochko was attacked by a participant of the rally against "unjust power cuts" in Zaporizhzhia on July 19. The incident happened as the journalist was filming the protest, Kateryna Klochko reported to the Institute of Mass Information representative in Zaporizhzhia oblast.

According to Kateryna, the attacker did not like the fact that she was not filming the car blocked by the protesters and demanded that she film the people who did it. When the journalist refused to do so, the woman grabbed the journalist by the arm, pushed her and forcibly turned her towards the car.

The journalist said that she was filming the protesters blocking the traffic on Sobornyi Avenue.

"At that moment, a car tried to drive by and was blocked by the protesters. Some woman started shouting to me: 'Why are you filming this, film those people!', pointing to the protesters blocking the car. Then she came up to me, grabbed me by the arm I was holding the camera with, pushed and turned me towards the car. I told her that I was a journalist and that I knew what to film, that she had no right to touch me or tell me what to film," said Kateryna Klochko.

According to her, when asked on what grounds she had laid hands on the journalist, the woman answered: "Next time I can use my feet."

In the video, which Kateryna Klochko took after the incident and shared with the IMI representative, the woman is seen behaving aggressively, shouting at the journalist and accusing her of "provoking the situation".

"I immediately turned to the policemen who were supervising the rally. In the end, I filed a statement with the police about obstruction of my reporting and now I am waiting for it to be registered," the 061.ua journalist said.

As the IMI representative points out, the July 19 rally in Zaporizhzhia was informally called the "Rally Against Unfair Power Cuts." The organizers of the event are unknown. The participants stressed that they were "self-organized".

As the journalists covering the event told the IMI representative, during the rally several people in the crowd shouted that the blackouts were not caused by a full-scale war and the Russian troops destroying Ukraine's energy infrastructure, but by the inaction and corruption of the authorities, etc. To date, similar rallies without officially declared organizers have already taken place in Zaporizhzhia and several cities in Poltava oblast. Calls for a similar rally in Cherkasy oblast have also been reported.

Death threats – 1

1. Odesa journalist reports threats to send him to the front line

08.07.2024 On June 27, 2024, the "Alternatyva.org" chief editor (Odesa oblast) Roman Varshanidze reported threats from an unknown person who claimed to be a Defense Intelligence representative. According to the journalist, that day he worked at a medical institution in Ovidiopil, where he had an unpleasant work-related conversation with the chief doctor.

"After our conversation, at approximately 6 p.m., I received a call from someone who claimed to be a Defense Intelligence representative and threatened that if I approached the doctor again, he would send me to the front line. I replied that he should start the procedure right now, because I will not let this matter slide," the journalist wrote.

Roman Varshanidze told the Institute of Mass Information representative in Odesa oblast that on June 28, the police opened a case under Article 345-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, death threats or violence against a journalist.

"On July 7, I spoke with the investigator, the person who called me has not yet been identified, the operative unit is dealing with this. There was no more pressure since then," the journalist added.

Obstruction of legal reporting – 1

1. Police prevents some reporters from accessing Okhmatdyt premises to cover the rescuers' work

08.07.2024 Journalist Kamila Hrabchuk says that on July 8, the police did not allow her and her colleagues to report on the work of rescuers following the Russian shelling strike on the children's hospital "Okhmatdyt".

She wrote about it on Facebook and shared the details in a comment to the IMI.

"Journalists were not allowed on the premises, I arrived some time around 14 o'clock, there were already a lot of people there. The police say that journalists cannot do anything there, tell us to look for all info in the official channels, and all that talk," Kamila told the IMI.

She wrote on Facebook that she has accreditation and an approved request from the State Emergency Service, "but they can't help me." She was only allowed to access the hospital after three hours of waiting.

Kamila Hrabchuk believes that "the police were instructed not to let journalists in, and they paid no attention to whether those journalists were accredited or not," she said in a comment to "Detector Media".

In the video filmed by Kamila Hrabchuk, a police officer is featured saying: "Many children died, and you want to make a news story on this blood. When they take you there in groups, you will enter."

In another video, a policemen is refusing to explain why the journalists were not allowed to work there. A police representative advised the journalist to "stay in a safe spot and film the work of rescuers from there."

Photographer and journalist Stas Kozliuk notes that this is not the first time when the police do not allow journalists to enter shelling sites or demand credentials to work in places where this is not required. He was able to enter the hospital's premises:

"I had no problems. I got there relatively quickly, and this is a general rule of thumb in such situations – before everyone realizes what is happening, you can go in and film in peace. A National Guardsmen asked me for my credentials, I showed them, and I understand everything perfectly. But the problem is that accreditation is perceived as a single press ID, which is not the case. And without it, as I understand, I would have been kicked out. This is not the first time I have come across something like this," says Stas Kozliuk.

Media lawyer Roman Holovenko believes that journalists should not be demanded to show accreditation when not working on battlefields.

"The accreditation we are talking about is given by the Armed Forces, that is, it is for admission to the UAF structures and the front line. That is, if a missile hit some military object, then yes, it is necessary. And this has nothing to do with it, because the very term 'accreditation' was introduced in the law on media to help the authorities promote their work. That is, it concerns a certain entity," the lawyer explains.

As for the shelling sites, Roman Holovenko says that if there are rescuers working there, they can determine whether to admit someone or not based on certain factors. "For example, if there are still explosives that have not gone off or a building may collapse. But then it is not an accreditation matter, and it is strange that they are talking about it at all. For example, the 'Okhmatdyt' administration as a business entity could determine whom to admit if, let's say, there are still undressed children or parents there. That is, we are talking about a certain procedure for accessing the place, but the decisions should definitely be made by specific authorized people. It is clear that there is a public interest in journalists reporting from a crime scene, but journalists must also consider the state of the people they are filming. On the other hand, people have mobile phones, and photos get posted anyway," says the media lawyer.

He added that certain ethical or safety issues may affect the decision to admit journalists and that it should be defined more clearly who is responsible for the decision-making in such cases.

"But if the National Guard or the police do not allow media workers under the pretext of accreditation, which does not apply to this at all, all while there are people on the territory filming everything on their phone, this is not normal," says Roman Holovenko.

According to the Security Service of Ukraine, on July 8, 2024, Russia targeted the children's hospital "Okhmatdyt" with a Kh-101 missile. Two hospital workers died. 16 people were injured, including three children.

According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the Russian strike on Kyiv on July 8 killed 27 people, including four children. 117 were injured, and seven people have been rescued.

Previously, the Institute of Mass Information wrote a memo for employees and servicemen of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine (National Police, SBU, National Guard, Ukrainian Armed Forces) regarding interaction with journalists doing their work to provide media support for Ukraine's defense operations.

CENSORSHIP, TOPIC GUIDELINES, ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Access to information for journalists – 2

1. Zaporizhzhia City Council turns down journalist's request for information

19.07.2024 The Zaporizhzhia City Council refused to disclose information on the state of unfinished buildings in Zaporizhzhia to 061.ua journalist Elmira Shagabudtdinova.The journalist reported this to the Institute of Mass Information representative in Zaporizhzhia oblast.

Officials initially declined to comment on the topic and later refused to respond to the part of the request covered by the Law on Access to Public Information, Elmira says.

In her request, the journalist was asking for information about the task force meant to oversee the completion of the construction of the residential complexes "Tykhyi Center" and "Zirkovy", as well as about the date of the task force's latest meeting and what is to happen to the property of depositors who have no registered property rights.

"To prepare a news story on unfinished buildings in Zaporizhzhia, we needed a comment from Zaporizhzhia City Council representatives. I asked the City Council's press office to help me get the comment, but I was told that none of the authorized persons want to speak with journalists.

"Then I submitted an information request to the City Council. However, they did not even want to register it. I received a letter from the executive committee saying that they needed a signature on the document. I know that according to the Law on Access to Public Information, a request must only be signed if it is submitted on paper. Still, I submitted the request again with a digital signature. After that, I received a reply saying that the requested information was not public and the request would not be reviewed accordingly," the journalist said.

The reply, signed by Natalia Avramenko, head of the Citizen Appeals and Access to Public Information Department of the Zaporizhzhia City Council, informed the journalist that it had not been a request, but an appeal, and that it had been passed along for processing within 30 days.

IMI lawyer Roman Holovenko notes that the refusal to provide information due to the lack of a handwritten signature is an obvious violation: "Since this is not a request submitted in writing, but in 'other' form, according to Part 3 of Art. 19 of the Law on Access to Public Information."

After reviewing the journalist's request, Roman Holovenko concluded that the submitted document is a request to a large extent, although one of the three questions can indeed be interpreted as an appeal for comment.

"Overall, it follows from the reply that they will provide the comment within the timeframe outlined by the Law 'On citizens' appeals', usually it is 30 days. But two out of three questions should be answered under the Law 'On Access to Public Information,'" says the lawyer.

According to the journalist, Zaporizhzhia is seeing an increasing tendency with officials to avoid contact with journalists in general and to refuse to provide information on many other socially significant topics.

Elmira said that this is not the first time she has encountered difficulties in obtaining information from the Zaporizhzhia City Council after Regina Kharchenko replaced Anatoliy Kurtev as the Council's secretary/acting Mayor.

"It has been quite difficult to get any comments from City Council representatives lately, because some of them simply avoid journalists. The acting Mayor Regina Kharchenko held a briefing at the start of her appointment in April. After that, it only happened one more time, and there were limits on the timing and the number of questions from journalists. The officials did not hold any more briefings or press conferences, although the public has a lot of questions for the City Council representatives," the 061.ua journalist said.

In early April, the Education and Science Department of the Zaporizhzhia City Council refused to provide Zaporizhia Center of Investigations (ZCI) journalists with information about the the local school meal prices almost tripling. Instead, the journalists were offered to have the Budget Code printed for 1,590 hryvnias. After the backlash, the City Council announced a press conference on child meals and provided journalists with full information free of charge.

2. Shepetivka mayor says ZHAR.INFO "sowed negativity" with their investigation

25.07.2024 Khmelnytsky media outlet ZHAR.INFO reports that Shepetivka Mayor Vitaliy Buzyl responded to the journalists' attempt to get a comment from him on July 5 by accusing them of "sowing negativity" in their last year's article. The official used this to justify himself and his subordinates ignoring the journalists' requests to comment on the new material for almost two months, the team reported on July 23, 2024 while covering the work of Khmelnytsky oblast city councils, in particular the Shepetivka City Council.

As the media outlet writes, in a conversation on July 5, the Mayor brought up the 2023 investigation into Shepetivka street furniture which was installed without proper paperwork.

In their report, the editors describe the entire dialogue in detail, first with Olha Petrova, the Mayor's advisor on communications and public relations, which begain in mid-May 2024.

The latter claimed that she had no obligation to reply to media representatives in a private communication channel, even though, according to the article, the advisor and the journalists had agreed on this format over the phone.

"I have no obligation to text you anything in a private communication channel. I have job duties, a job description, and work communication channels with NGO representatives. This is a request for public information. You sent me questions. OK. I said I would look into them. I have," said Olha Petrova.

After receiving such a reply from the advisor, the journalists decided to contact the Mayor, Vitaliy Buzyl. At first, the media outlet writes, the official was responsive, agreed to be sent the same questions in WhatsApp and promised to talk to his advisor about the situation.

However, the media outlet writes, at the end of the conversation, he started reminding the journalists of their investigation from the previous year, saying that the report only served to sow negativity.

"That information of yours, the requests, then revealing information on deputies, including those in the Verkhovna Rada. I don't remember the headline of the report on the street furniture installed by Polonne entrepreneurs. There was a lot of information that was completely wrong. Look, that information only served to sow negativity," said Vitaliy Buzyl.

The official also told the journalists that their investigation only escalated the situation further. "In this way, in general, we are not creating positivity, but some kind of negativity in the country," said Vitaliy Buzyl.

The Mayor also noted that over 90% of residents in the location where the street furniture was installed were happy to have such an object open near them.

"The dormitory's residents are, I won't go as far as to say 100%, but probably over 90% of them are satisfied that such an object will be introduced... will open near them. It's made very nicely there," Buzyl added.

After this, the Mayor said that he had an appointment with citizens (despite having asked the journalists earlier to call him in a couple of minutes, when he would be in the car) and hung up, the media outlet reports.

Immediately after the conversation, the editors contacted the official in WhatsApp as agreed and copied the list of questions they previously had previously attempted to get answers to in a comment. The official did not read these messages for several days, so they decided to contact the Shepetivka City Council in writing.

As of the time of the article's release, neither the Mayor nor the Shepetivka City Council have replied, and the WhatsApp messages to the official remain unread.

As reported earlier, the Mykolayiv City Council believes that NikVesti creates "social tension" with their critical material. This is how the City Council's housing and communal services department responded to the media outlet's report on the incomplete repair of the roof of the multi-story building at 36 Admiralska Street, which had been damaged by shelling in April 2023.

ONLINE PRESSURE

Other kinds of online pressure – 1

1. NGL.media receives misogynistic messages following their investigation into child abduction

24.07.2024 Oleksandra Hubytska, executive director of the independent anti-corruption center NGL.media, reports their editorial team receiving multiple misogynistic messages humiliating women following their investigation "Child abductors. Dozens of victims, millions of hryvnias earned. Story of the NGO Batko Maye Pravo".

Hubytska posted them on Facebook.

"I apologize that this appeared in your feed. But I have to show you a few quotes, accurate to the original, from the official response by the NGO Batko Maye Pravo to my colleagues' report," Hubytska writes.

Below are some quotes from Oleksandra Hubytska's post:

• "Women in Ukraine are as willing to write an article for money as they are to suck a dick."
• "In most cases, when a woman sees that there is a new trough with tastier feed, she switches to the new trough, dropping the marriage."
• "They always treat the child as an object."
• "A man certainly has no obligation to the ex-pussycat he f***ed at one point."
• "We are breaking the stereotypes that society, the state, lawyers and ex-hags have put into men's heads."
• "Broken-tailed pussycats have started howling and complaining to the government."

Hubytska noted that some insults were directed at their editors:

• "women's Tampax media";
• "Tampax-oriented media resource".

Oleksandra Hubytska believes that the police should respond to such a situation: "Obviously, the head of Batko Maye Pravo has some big issues that require the intervention of both medics and the law enforcement system."

In her comment to the Institute of Mass Information, the investigation's co-author Natalia Onysko noted that she does not view these phrases as cyber bullying.

"At least for now, our social media inboxes are not being hacked. It doesn't even look like a pressure attempt, it just shows the discourse level that the investigation's subjects operate on. Open insults to women, obscene language in the post, devaluation and misogyny are rather a sign of weakness," said Onysko.

She added that the editorial team plans to hand the downloaded contents of the chat in the Batko Maye Pravo Telegram channel, which NGL.media managed to access and review, over to lawyers and mothers of kidnapped children. In it, the group's members coordinate their actions such as kidnapping children and pressuring the mothers of the chat members' children, the media noted.

The investigation "Child abductors. Dozens of victims, millions of hryvnias earned. Story of the NGO Batko Maye Pravo" was released on July 22, 2024.

In the introduction to it, the co-authors Natalia Onysko and Marjana Verbovska explained that several women contacted NGL.media this spring Their ex-husbands had kidnapped their children. Ultimately, NGL.media identified 72 women who are now trying to get their children back. The common thread in the stories of these women is the fact that the father of their child became a client or activist of the NGO Batko Maye Pravo. According to the investigators, the organization's reputation for organizing child kidnappings and hiding the children in Ukraine, which it calls legal assistance to men, goes back almost nine years.

At the same time, Oleksandr Shvets, the head of the NGO Batko Maye Pravo, denied both the financial and the moral aspects of his work in the comment to the media outlet. "As for the fate of the children who get forcibly abducted by their fathers after his consultations, he assures that all these children ran away because of abuse from their mothers," the newspaper writes.

DEFENDING FREEDOM OF SPEECH

The authorities' response to freedom of speech violations – 5

1. SBU opens investigation into Zhanna Kyselyova's kidnapping by Russians

02.07.2024 A case has been opened over journalist Zhanna Kyselyova's abduction by the Russians in the occupied Kakhovka (Kherson oblast), reports the Kherson Oblast Prosecutor's Office.

The investigation was initiated by the Security Service of Ukraine in Kherson oblast and classified as violation of the laws and customs of war (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The proceedings were opened following the media reports that the Russian troops kidnapped local newspaper "Kakhovska Zorya" editor Zhanna Kyselyova from her own apartment in the temporarily occupied Kakhovka for the second time on June 27.

Zhanna Kyselyova's whereabouts are currently unknown.

As reported by the Institute of Mass Information, the Russian troops have already kidnapped Zhanna Kyselyova in September 2022 and kept her in a torture cellar for almost a month. After being released, she stayed in the occupied city.

"The pretrial investigation into her first kidnapping is underway," the oblast prosecutors say.

Zhanna Kyselyova ran the district newspaper "Kakhovska Zorya" for many years and fought for its denationalization. In 2020, she was elected a Kakhovka City Council deputy. Kakhovka city has been under Russian occupation since February 2022.

2. Kyiv court sentences FSB employees to 13 years in prison for persecuting a Crimean journalist

04.07.2024 The Solomyansky District Court of Kyiv sentenced two employees of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) to 13 years in prison in absentia for involvement in the search of the apartment of Krym.Realii journalist Hanna Andriyevska's parents in Crimea.

The judgement was passed on July 3, 2024, Krym.Realii reports.

The two FSB employees, Denis Alunin and Dmitri Gramashov, previously served in the SBU, but joined the FSB after the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014.

The court found them guilty under three articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

• violation of security of residence (Article 162);
• obstruction of reporting (Article 171);
• high treason (Article 111).

The case was considered in absentia without the participation of the convicts. They were represented by public attorneys who denied their clients' guilt.

In March 2023, the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea have submitted a court indictment against two Russian FSB officers who persecuted Ukrainian journalist Hanna Andrievska in occupied Crimea.

Their actions were classified as:

• persecution of a journalist for performing their professional duties, carried out by a group of persons upon prior conspiracy (Part 2 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• illegal entry into a home, illegal search with threats of violence (Part 2 of Article 28; Part 2 of Article 162 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• high treason (Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

On March 13, 2015, officers of the Russian FSB searched the apartment of Crimean journalist Hanna Andrievska's parents as part of a criminal case initiated following her report about the Crimea Battalion volunteers, published on the website of the Ukrainian news agency "Center for Journalistic Investigations". The FSB confiscated the journalist's equipment, belongings and documents.

The Russian FSB opened a criminal case against Hanna Andrievska under Article 280.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (public calls for violation of the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation).

The journalist said that the report had been published back in December 2014. The article is about the volunteers of the Crimea Battalion, what kind of organization it is and how they work. Andrievska stated that the report did not contain any calls for the peninsula's secession.

The Russian authorities have added Andrievska to the national list of terrorists and extremists; she faces up to 5 years in prison in Russia.

In 2019, the Solomyansky District Court of Kyiv obliged Russia to pay over 1 million hryvnias in redress to journalist Hanna Andrievska, who was forced to leave occupied Crimea and had been persecuted by the FSB.

3. Police to investigate the attack on journalist in Kherson as obstruction

08.07.2024 Kherson police has opened an investigation into the attack on the MOST journalist Olena Hnitetska in Kherson.

The press officer of the Kherson Oblast National Police HQ Andriy Kovany reported this to the Institute of Mass Information representative in Kherson oblast.

"It was entered into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations yesterday (July 8. – Ed.) under Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstructing the legal professional work of journalists. – Ed.). An investigation is underway," he said.

MOST journalist Olena Hnitetska was attacked and threatened by an unknown man while filming in Kherson earlier on July 8.

At the time of the attack, she was wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet with PRESS badges, so the attacker clearly saw that he was obstructing a journalist's work.

Olena Hnitetska filed a statement with the police.

4. Rivne court fines a man 850 hryvnias for attacking a journalist

23.07.2024 The Rivne City Court convicted a man of obstructing the work of ITV Media Group journalist Daria Solodovnyk and fined him 850 hryvnias.

The judgement was passed on April 19, 2024, reports the Institute of Mass Information representative in the oblast.

The incident involving Daria Solodovnyk occurred on April 10, 2023, when the ITV Media Group filming crew took the elevator together with the defendant. As stated in the verdict, the journalists were on an editorial assignment. They were working on a report about a building's residents convening to elect a new head of the cooperative.

The ruling states that, seeing the journalists, the man "deliberately, fully conscious and aware that the journalist PERSON_4 (Daria Solodovnyk. – Ed.) is a mass media representative," started swinging at the journalist, grabbing the microphone from her hands and trying to take away the flash drives with the recordings in order to prevent the publication of the news story.

In the verdict, the court noted that the defendant committed a criminal misdemeanor under Part 1 of Art. 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – intentional obstruction of a journalist's legal professional activity.

Since the defendant "sincerely repented" for his deeds at the pre-trial investigation stage and contributed to the investigation, the judge chose a milder punishment for him – a fine. He also has to compensate the state 7 000 hryvnias for hiring an expert during the investigation.

According to the ruling, Daria Solodovnyk confirmed the details discovered by the pre-trial investigation. The IMI could not get the journalist's comment about the obstruction she faced.

The judgement could be appealed in a court of appeal within 30 days.

Persons (non-officials) usually face harsher penalties for obstructing reporting (Article 171 of the Criminal Code): a fine of up to 200 tax-free minimums, probation supervision for up to four years, or up to four years in custody.

ITV Media Group (broadcasting company "Rytm") is owned by Roman Kurys, a personal friend and business partner of the acting mayor Victor Shakirzyan. The TV channel regularly publishes jeansa about Viktor Shakirzyan and his party's representatives.

In January, the IMI reported in detail on the progress in the investigations of various abuses against journalists in Rivne oblast.

5. Police opens case over Mykolaiv City Council denying access to journalists after IMI report

29.07.2024 A news story by the Institute of Mass Information prompted the Mykolaiv police to open a case over "NikVesti" journalists being denied access to the City Council building, the Mykolaiv Oblast Police reported to an IMI representative.

The Mykolaiv City Council adopted new rules on journalists' access to the building. Now journalists can only enter the building upon invitation from officials. The media outlet's reporters learned about the new access regulations after failing to enter the City Council to get comments from officials after an apparatus meeting.

The case was opened on July 26 under Part 1 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine "Obstruction of the lawful professional work of journalists." The investigation is being conducted by the department No. 1 of the Mykolaiv district police, Mykolaiv oblast.

They discovered that the regulations for accessing the Mykolaiv City Council building are based on an instruction approved on February 3, 2022.

According to it, media representatives can enter the building if they are included in the open event lists prepared by the organizational unit of the Department for Ensuring the Functioning of Executive Bodies of the Mykolaiv City Council.

Journalists will be admitted by one-time electronic passes upon showing documents confirming their identity and professional affiliation.

To get comments, interviews or discuss other issues, journalists are allowed to enter the building escorted by an official from the information support unit of the mayor's department, and they have to add their name in the visitor logbook.

In 2021 the Pervomaysk City Council (Mykolaiv oblast) adopted a media accreditation procedure which involved introducing a special card-based system of accreditation. The cards would be issued upon consent from the mayor and the deputy commission on legality and regulations.

Response by the journalist community – 1

1. Civil society organizations call for fair 2025 funding to Suspilne

30.07.2024 Civil society organizations call on the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada to support fair funding to the public broadcaster in the 2025 State Budget. This is stated in a joint address by eight NGOs.

The address says that in the war between Russia and Ukraine, Suspilne has demonstrated its key role in a crisis and a responsible and independent editorial policy – communicating with the audience on both traditional and digital platforms.

"In some places inaccessible to other media, especially in the temporarily occupied territories, Suspilne remained the only channel of information. Despite the war, Suspilne continues to produce high-quality content on history and culture, to develop platforms for children and teenagers, to expose Russia's major lies about our culture: language, books, cinema, sports, media; and to work with indigenous peoples and national minorities (communities)," the address says.

The authors also note that Suspilne's news are distributed in European public media as part of the exchange program: the news stories are streamed on 219 channels by 85 broadcasters around the world.

However, the NGOs remark, the people who make Suspilne what it is remain quite vulnerable, as the main source of funding for the broadcaster is the state budget.

The authors of the address remind that the law on public media in Ukraine stipulates that the broadcaster should receive 0.2% of the total state budget expenditures for the previous year, which would mean 5 billion in 2024 and over 6 billion in 2025.

"In wartime, when most of the state budget is being spent on defense, such a share would be legal, but not fair. However, it is also unfair when the salaries of the PBCU staff – the people creating the high-quality and independent content – are lower by 50% on average (and by over 80% in some cases) compared to similar positions in the commercial market," note the NGOs.

They add that such a situation makes the company "frankly uncompetitive on the labor market and results in the risk of losing the team, as the growing prices for necessities push them to look for other, more financially attractive jobs." The authors of the statement remind that Suspilne has already been in a critical situation when the payment of the already small salaries was significantly delayed due to lack of funding.

The NGOs note that they understand the funding priorities that must be set in when budget is strictly limited. However, they stress that the overtly genocidal war that Russia is waging on Ukraine is not about the landgrab, but about destroying identity. Therefore, Ukraine can only act asymmetrically – produce its own content and its own agenda.

"That's why fair funding for Suspilne within the limits that will allow to bring the salaries as close as possible to those on the market and to cover the expenses necessary for the broadcaster's stable functioning would be a call for the preservation of an institution that plays a key role in safeguarding democracy itself," the statement reads.

The non-governmental organizations call on the Ministry of Finance and the Parliament to support funding to Suspilne that follows the formula of 0.2% budget expenditures minus the defense expenditures (that is, 0.09% of the 2024 state budget expenditures), which amounts to about UAH 2.8 billion.

"This is less than half of the funding guaranteed by law. Such an amount will not allow development, but it will allow the company to function stably, to produce content, in particular involving market players, to pay decent salaries to their employees and to ensure the fulfillment of the tasks provided for by law," the address reads.

The address was signed by: Center for Democracy and Rule of Law, "Souspilnist" Foundation, the Ukrainian Institute for Media and Communications, NGO "Detector Media", NGO Institute for Regional Press Development, NGO "Institute of Mass Information", NGO "Internews-Ukraine", the Pylyp Orlyk Institute of Democracy.

Lawsuits by journalists – 1

1. "Chetverta Vlada" journalist sues police over request refusal

23.07.2024 "Chetverta Vlada" journalist Anna Khinochyk is suing the Rivne Oblast National Police over their refusal to provide the information she requested on the police examinations conducted in the course of the investigation into an expensive hospital equipment purchase.

As follows from the judgement by the Rivne District Administrative Court, the proceedings in the journalist's lawsuit were closed in late May. The case is currently being tried by the Administrative Court of Appeal No. 8.

Last year, Anna Khinochyk investigated the purchase of a robotic walking restoration system for Rivne City Hospital No. 2 for 29 million hryvnias. The journalist proved that the equipment was bought at an inflated price and that its effectiveness is doubtful.

The police also investigated this purchase, but closed the case in January 2023 for unknown reasons.

In February, having learned that the case had been closed, Anna Khinochyk submitted a public information request to the police, asking for information about the examinations (and their results) conducted within the proceedings.

The police refused to provide the information, claiming that it was classified, since it contained data from the pre-trial investigation, which can only be disclosed with written consent by the investigator and the prosecutor.

Disagreeing with the refusal, the journalist appealed in the Rivne District Administrative Court. In the lawsuit, she asked to order the police to provide the information she requested and argued that the data that the police refused to provide is public and of public interest.

In her comment to the regional representative of the Institute of Mass Information, Anna Khinochyk said that she consulted with a lawyer before suing.

"We consider this information to be public and socially important, because we are talking about nearly 29 million hryvnias spent, perhaps wasted. The money belongs to the Rivne community. The police investigated whether the price was inflated. We believe that it is important for the Rivne community to hear what examinations the police conducted, what they discovered and why they closed the proceedings. That is, what were the grounds for closing it. I didn't get an answer to all this, so we filed the lawsuit," says Anna Khinochyk.

Despite the journalist's arguments, the Rivne District Administrative Court closed the proceedings in the case on May 21, 2024. According to the court, the information requested by the journalist is criminal case files, which are obtained in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code. And the Code provides a special procedure for accessing case files in a criminal investigation.

Disagreeing with the court's judgement, Anna Khinochyk appealed to the Administrative Court of Appeal No. 8, which opened proceedings in the case on July 8, 2024. The Court of Appeal will hear the journalist's complaint on August 7.

As a reminder, the hospital equipment supplier company has already sued the journalist, but lost the trial.

Since martial law was introduced, "Chetverta Vlada" journalists have been facing refusals of access to public information more frequently, which is why they are suing various authorities.