Freedom of Speech Barometer for June 2023
In June IMI experts recorded 14 crimes against freedom of speech in Ukraine. Six 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 shelling and injuring journalists, cybercrimes.
At the same time, IMI recorded eight freedom of speech violations for which Ukrainian citizens are responsible. These include obstruction, property damage and restricting access to public information.
Two media workers were killed in action in June:
- Roman Chornomaz – a Ukrainian activist, journalist, photoreporter, long-time member of the "Nasha Vira" editorial team, Freedom Legion soldier, killed in a battle in the Bakhmut area on June 13, 2023.
- Ivan Shulha – sound director and soldier, killed in action on June 16, 2023. He was a live broadcast sound director at "Priamyi" TV.
In total, 63 media workers were killed in Ukraine, 10 of whom died while reporting.
In Kherson, foreign and Ukrainian journalists covering the evacuation of locals who were affected by the flood, which was triggered by the Kakhovskaya HPP explosion, came under Russian fire. As freelance reporter Stas Kozlyuk told IMI, there were many journalists in the spot that came under fire. Among them were Stas Yurchenko, Lyubomyra Remazhevska, Yevheniy Savilov, Inna Varenytsia, the "Deutsche Welle" and "Suspilne" crews.
In addition, a team of four media workers came under Russian fire in the recently liberated Blahodatne village (Donetsk oblast). As Olha Kosova, Olha Kosova, a freelancer who works with Spanish media, told IMI, the occupiers opened fire with the "Grad" MLRS when they noticed people moving. There were no casualties.
The Russians continue to create fake Ukrainian media websites. This time, another clone of the RBC-Ukraine website appeared in the web. The Russian propagandists used this website to post a misleading article titled "Zaluzhny spells everything out." In the article, which is purportedly written by the news feed editor, Dmytro Braslavskyi, they cite a similarly fake Facebook post by the UAF Commander-in-Chief, Valery Zaluzhny. With this report, the Russians are trying to promote the belief that "it's all over," the counteroffensive has failed, Zelensky has betrayed everyone, there will be no more weapons, and other such false and pessimistic narratives.
Furthermore, a Russian shelling attack on Kramatorsk on June 27 resulted in a missile hitting a downtown pizzeria where customers, including journalists, were dining. Two reporters were injured – a British freelance photographer, Anastasia Taylor-Lind, and a journalist from South America, Catalina Gómez, who were at the pizzeria.
Dmytro, an interpreter accompanying one of the reporters, was also injured.
The freedom of speech situation in Ukraine for which Ukrainian citizens are responsible
The eight freedom of speech violations for which Ukrainian citizens are responsible include cases of obstruction, damage to journalists' property, and restricting access to public information.
In Odesa, "Dumska" reporters were not allowed to attend a meeting of the Odesa Oblast Council conciliation panel and an Odesa Oblast Council session within one week.
In Kharkiv, reporters from Channel 5 and Channel 24 were prevented from filming in a public space – the Shevchenko Garden – without a permission from the mayor, Ihor Terekhov.
The Canadian "Globe and Mail" wrote that the Ukrainian government had failed to renew the media accreditation for Anton Skyba, a photojournalist who has worked with The Globe and Mail since 2014, after it expired. The Ukrainian security services have demanded a lie-detector test, accusing the reporter of holding a Russian passport and questioning whether his work is aligned with the country’s “national interests.” According to Skyba, the SBU said he had to pass a lie detector test for them to consider renewing his accreditation. However, after the issue gained traction, his accreditation for covering the war in Ukraine was renewed until September 5, 2023.
Freelancer photojournalist Stas Kozlyuk has reported that the authorities threatened to strip him of accreditation for taking pictures of the black bags with the victims' bodies in Kryvyi Rih. The reporters had arrived to work on the ground after a rocket strike on a high-rise building. They faced obstruction by a woman who presumably works in public relations at the regional military administration. According to Kozlyuk, the woman assured them that if the media wanted to take pictures of the black bags with the bodies of the dead, they would have to obtain a filming permission from the dead people's families. In their turn, the media workers said that they were not violating anything, but had come to document Russia's crimes and would not be filming the bodies of the dead or making unethical close-ups of their faces. We remind that on June 13, 2023, a Russian attack killed 10 people and injured 28 more in Kryvyi Rih, one more person remaining under the rubble.
Believers of the UOC (ROC-affiliated) keep obstructing the work of journalists. This month, a church's parishioners in Cherkasy attacked Maksym Tkachenko, a videoreporter for the media outlet 18000, and damaged his equipment.
In Kostopil, (Rivne oblast), unknown persons set the house of the former district newspaper editor, writer and founder of the Facebook community "Our Kostopil", Oleksandr Namozov, on fire. He views this as an attempt on his life. Namozov suggests that the authorities might be behind the arson, because he's been calling out the corruption in the government in his materials. According to the Kostopil City Council, such allegations "sound like libel."
RUSSIA'S CRIMES
Firing at journalists – 2
1. Journalists come under Russian fire in Kherson
08.06.2023 The Russian military started shelling Kherson, where the civilians affected by the flood caused by the explosion of the Kakhovska HPP are being evacuated. Some journalists came under fire during the attack.
The strike was reported by "Graty" correspondent Stas Yurchenko.
There have been reports about journalists for the Spanish state television coming under fire as well.
"There were several filming crews on Korabeliv Square when the shelling happened. We know for sure that a Spanish state TV crew was there, their fixer Rodion Krasnovyd told me that they were hiding higher up, they saw the strikes. Now they are checking what the situation is, they say that some people have been injured. At the same time, there have been no reports about injured journalists at the moment. The Spaniards are fine, too," said Serhiy Nikitenko, the IMI representative in Kherson oblast.
"The Russians were firing from barrel artillery, GRAD shells were raining down. My colleagues and I lay in ditches for about an hour, then we left for a safer place," freelance reporter Stas Kozlyuk told IMI.
According to him, there were many journalists in the spot that came under fire. Among them are Stas Yurchenko, Lyubomyra Remazhevska, Yevheniy Savilov, Inna Varenytsia, the "Deutsche Welle" and "Suspilne" crews.
"Yesterday I was working near the water on the Korabeliv Square, today I decided to work in another spot, also near the water. I was talking to the evacuees arriving there by boats. All was quiet and peaceful. I just had just recorded the story of a family that had been taken to Kherson from the occupied territory. There were a lot of people around: volunteers from all over Ukraine, rescuers, medics, journalists from around the world. And then the shelling began. We ran at the speed of light and took cover. Fortunately, I was not at the Korabeliv Square. I had already left Kherson," freelance journalist Khrystyna Berdynskikh wrote on Facebook.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as of 4:00 p.m., there no casualties have been reported; eight people have been injured.
We remind you that on the night of June 6, 2023, the Russian invaders blew up the Kakhovska HPP dam. Cities and villages downstream of the Dnipro started flooding, the locals are being evacuated en masse.
2. Reporters come under Russian fire in Blahodatne
15.06.2023 A team of four media workers came under Russian fire in the recently liberated village of Blahodatne (Donetsk oblast).
Olha Kosova, a freelancer who works with Spanish media, reported this in a comment to IMI.
According to her, the occupiers opened fire with the "Grad" MLRS when they noticed people moving.
There were no casualties.
By now, the media workers have left the village of Blahodatne, Donetsk oblast.
Injured journalists – 3
1. British journalist injured in a Russian strike on Kramatorsk
27.06.2023 A British freelance photographer, Anastasia Taylor-Lind, was injured in the Russian shelling attack on Kramatorsk (Donetsk oblast) on June 27.
As Anastasia Taylor-Lind told The New York Times, she was dining inside a downtown cafe. At 19.30 the place was "pretty busy". It was supposed to close in about half an hour.
Later, she heard a “roaring” noise and knew it was an incoming missile. Then there was an explosion.
“I felt hot air and the sound of breaking glass and debris flying, clattering and tinkering,” she said. “It went on and on and on.”
According to the photographer, she and her colleague slid off their chairs and made it to the basement, fearful of another strike. Both were bleeding. A member of the wait staff washed the blood off her face, Ms. Taylor-Lind said, and also helped her colleague.
As BBC Ukraine reports, citing Aguanta Ucraina (Hang on, Ukraine – a Ukraine support group in South America), three Colombian citizens were wounded by the shelling in downtown Kramatorsk: the founder of the organization, Colombian MP Sergio Jaramillo, writer Héctor Abad Faciolince and journalist Catalina Gómez. They have minor injuries.
They were accompanied by a Ukrainian writer, who has been severely wounded.
It will be recalled that Russian troops launched a missile strike on Kramatorsk in the evening of June 27. One "Iskander" missile hit a pizzeria in the city center, where patrons, including journalists, were dining, and another one hit Bilenke village. According to the State Emergency Service, as of 10:00 a.m. on June 28, the bodies of 9 dead people (including 3 children) were recovere from the rubble, and 56 people were injured (including 1 child, born in 2022).
2. Colombian journalist injured in a Russian strike on Kramatorsk
27.06.2023 A journalist from South America, Catalina Gómez, was injured in the Russian shelling attack on Kramatorsk (Donetsk oblast) on June 27.
As BBC Ukraine reports, citing Aguanta Ucraina (Hold on Ukraine – a Ukraine support group in South America), three Colombian citizens were wounded by the shelling in downtown Kramatorsk: the founder of the organization, Colombian MP Sergio Jaramillo, writer Héctor Abad Faciolince and journalist Catalina Gómez. They have minor injuries.
They were accompanied by a Ukrainian writer, who has been severely wounded.
It will be recalled that Russian troops launched a missile strike on Kramatorsk in the evening of June 27. One "Iskander" missile hit a pizzeria in the city center, where patrons, including journalists, were dining, and another one hit Bilenke village. According to the State Emergency Service, as of 10:00 a.m. on June 28, the bodies of 9 dead people (including 3 children) were recovere from the rubble, and 56 people were injured (including 1 child, born in 2022).
3. Interpreter accompanying a foreign journalist injured in the strike on Kramatorsk
27.06.2023 Dmytro, an interpreter accompanying a foreign journalist, was injured in the Russian strike on Kramatorsk on June 27.
Dmytro told IMI about this.
According to him, they were in the restaurant that was hit by the missile. Dmytro and the journalist have minor injuries. He and his colleague feel normal, they refused to be hospitalized.
"I have relatively light physical injuries and now, on the second day, I got a headache. But this, as I understand it, is how concussion normally goes. I hope it will pass," the interpreter said.
Dmytro asked not to disclose his name because he does not want his relatives to learn about his injuries.
Recalling the moment of the shelling, Dmytro said he and the reporter were sitting on the summer terrace. The restaurant was busy that evening.
"A kind of a roar, like a fighter jet engine, but it all happened very quickly, and then – an explosion. Just like that, very simple. Everything in my view became shaky. Sparks, flashes. It was all over in a few seconds. I got up from the table, realized that I still got my arms and legs, I was very happy about that, and we went to the basement," Dmytro recalled the moment of the impact.
He added that as he was walking down to the basement, he felt something very hot on his head. It was blood; he was given first aid in the basement.
After that, Dmytro noted, he suggested that his colleague leave the restaurant, as he assumed that the Russians could hit it again in about 20 minutes.
"We left, got up. I dug out my bag, my car keys. My power bank. She took her bag, and we headed to the spot where I had parked my car. The car is destroyed almost completely, like a tin can – everything is squished to the inside. There were no windows, but the engine did start," said Dmytro.
Then, they went to the hospital, where Dmytro got his face injury stitched up and his hand and head bandaged.
It will be recalled that Russian troops launched a missile strike on Kramatorsk in the evening of June 27. One "Iskander" missile hit a pizzeria in the city center, where patrons, including journalists, were dining.
Two reporters were injured – a British freelance photographer, Anastasia Taylor-Lind, and a journalist from South America, Catalina Gómez.
On June 28, SBU counter-intelligence detained a Russian agent who helped aim the Russian missile strike on a cafe in downtown Kramatorsk.
Cyber crime – 1
1. Another RBC-Ukraine clone appears online
21.06.2023 Another fake website of the Ukrainian news outlet RBC-Ukraine has appeared in the web. This was reported by the fact-checking project "On That Side of News".
Russian propagandists used the fake website to post a misleading article entitled "Zaluzhny spells everything out." In the article, which is purportedly written by the news feed editor, Dmytro Braslavsky, they cite a similarly fake Facebook post by the UAF Commander-in-Chief, Valery Zaluzhny. With this report, the Russians are trying to promote the belief that "it's all over," the counteroffensive has failed, Zelensky has betrayed everyone, there will be no more weapons, and other such false and pessimistic narratives, reports "On That Side".
The article is structured like an original column where "Braslavsky" reflects on the counteroffensive prospects and comes to the conclusion that Ukraine needs more Zaluzhnys, not a traitor president.
According to the domain verification service "whois", the resource with the domain name "rbk media" (actually the name is somewhat different, but Facebook has already identified the fraud and is taking it down) was registered in February 2023. The real "RBC-Ukraine" domain name is rbc.ua.
The fake post by Valery Zaluzhny, which is bein promoted by an empty “For You” page, is being actively recommended by Facebook algorithms as well. Thanks to this, the post with the link to a fake website ended up in the feeds of many Ukrainians.
The fact that the post in question is fake is evidenced by its layout. The text itself is shown in a Facebook window, but the profile name id from Twitter (and has the signature verification checkmark).
Dmytro Braslavsky, whom the "On That Side of News" contacted for comment, was surprised to learn that his name was being exploited by fraudsters again. The editors will deal with this problem.
As the IMI reported, in March, 2023, the editors of the RBC Ukraine filed a statement with the cyberpolice over website forgery and a fake article criticizing the UAF Commander-in-Chief, Valery Zaluzhny. The article criticizing Zaluzhny was signed with Dmytro Braslavsky's name.
In June 2022, the RBC-Ukraine reported that some criminals were posing as their editorial office to advertise a survey with which RBC-Ukraine had nothing to do on social media. Back then, the RBC-Ukraine contacted the National Police, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Digital Transformation regarding this issue.
Crimea – 1
1. Complaints of journalist Iryna Danylovych ignored by prison administration in occupied Simferopol
22.06.2023 The administration of the Simferopol PTDC-1 disposes of all letters by citizen journalist Iryna Danylovych, who has been convicted by the occupation court, where she complaints about violations on their part.
This is stated in her address, a copy of which was viewed by the RFE/RL project "Krym.Realii".
According to the address, the administration ignores her written statements and disposes of her formal complaints to higher authorities.
"In a PTDC, like in ordinary slums, there is a special group of people who are so confident in their unlimited power that they elevate themselves above any law," Danylovych notes.
She also states that she has prepared three statements for the prosecutors, but the detention center employees are preventing her from sending them. In one of such statements, Iryna Danylovych reports having been deprived of the right to make phone calls to her relatives for over three months, in the second she writes about her letters to her lawyer being deliberately intercepted. The third statement is about the administration not giving her the book sent to her from the outside over half a year ago, without explaining the reasons.
As IMI reported, Iryna Danylovych was detained on April 29 in the occupied Crimea. She was detained on her way from work on the road from Koktebel to Feodosia. Her house in Vladislavivka village was searched, her phone and laptop were seized.
In late July 2022, Danylovych said that officers of the Federal Security Service of the russian federation (FSB) beat her and continue to pressure her.
On December 28, 2022, the occupation court of Feodosia, Crimea ("judge" Natalia Kulinskaya), sentenced citizen journalist and human rights activist Iryna Danylovych to seven years in prison on the charges of illegal storage and manufacture of explosives under Part 1 of Art. 222.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
On March 21, Iryna Danylovych wrote a letter announcing she was going on a dry hunger strike until "the treatment begins or until biological death." In the letter, she reported on the deterioration of her health: hearing issues and a possible microstroke.
On March 22, 2023, multiple human rights organizations called for the immediate hospitalization of Iryna Danylovych.
Iryna was not taken for the promised medical examination for a long time following her hunger strike, because "judge" Natalia Kulinskaya deliberately set the date for reviewing the case material on the day when the prison administration were planning to take Danylovych to the hospital.
Iryna Danylovych worked as a nurse, and was also a citizen journalist, covering the problems of the health care system in Crimea and sharing information about the war in Ukraine.
The Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has opened a case regarding the illegal searches and detention of Iryna Danylovych.
On April 23, 2023, Iryna's father Bronislav Danylovych said that his daughter was not receiving the treatment she had been promised.
On May 2, 2023, the Russia-backed Supreme Court of the occupied Crimea referred the case against citizen journalist Iryna Danylovych backed to the occupiers' Feodosia City Court because the defendant had not completed the review of the case.
The Russian-backed Supreme Court of the occupied Crimea scheduled the hearing of the appeal against the Feodosia city court's ruling in the case against the citizen journalist Iryna Danylovych for June 15, 2023.
On June 15, 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has accepted the application regarding the unlawful detention of citizen journalist Iryna Danylovych in occupied Crimea.
THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH SITUATION IN UKRAINE FOR WHICH UKRAINIAN CITIZENS ARE RESPONSIBLE
PHYSICAL AGGRESSION
Obstruction of legal journalistic work – 6
1. Denying Anton Skyba accreditation hampers our ability to cover the war – The Globe and Mail
08.06.2023 The Canadian "Globe and Mail" writes that denying their journalist Anton Skyba accreditation hampers the publication's ability to cover the war.
The Ukrainian government has failed to renew the media accreditation for Anton Skyba, a photojournalist who has worked with The Globe and Mail since 2014, after it expired. This was reported on the Canadian media outlet's website.
According to The Globe and Mail, the Ukrainian security services have demanded a lie-detector test, accusing the reporter of holding a Russian passport and questioning whether his work is aligned with the country’s “national interests.” Anton Skyba, who has worked as a photographer, translator and fellow reporter alongside a half-dozen Globe journalists in Ukraine, was a National Newspaper Award finalist this year for his coverage of Russia's crimes in Ukraine.
In a comment to IMI, Anton Skyba noted that he did not consider this an act of pressure targeting him personally, but believed that this situation was part of a broader credentials issue.
"I believe that my case is a side effect of the accreditation processes that are currently happening in Ukraine. The SBU is having issues with me because my parents are in the occupied territory – for them this is a reason to believe that my work may be compromised and I may be vulnerable. This is reminiscent of the Soviet punitive practices, where after World War II you had to prove that your family, which had been under occupation, had no ties to the enemy. It also seems to me that this is part of the discrimination that IDPs from the east have been facing since 2014. As a Ukrainian who works for foreign media, for me this situation is an absolute shame because of this prevailing ignorance regarding mass media's impact in the Western world," said Anton Skyba.
According to him, the SBU said he had to pass a lie detector test for them to consider renewing his accreditation. "I have not heard of anyone being invited to take a lie detector test, but journalists are frequently invited to so-called interviews at the SBU, with special attention being paid to journalists who had beein working in 2014–2015 or have worked in temporarily occupied Crimea, they pay attention to such people," said Anton Skyba.
13.06.2023 In Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovska oblast), reporters who arrived to work on the ground after a rocket strike on a high-rise building were threatened by a woman who presumably works in public relations at the regional military administration and told them their accreditation would be revoked for taking pictures of the black bags with the victims' bodies.
Freelancer photojournalist Stas Kozlyuk spoke to IMI about this.
According to him, the woman assured them that if the media wanted to take pictures of the black bags with the bodies of the dead, they would have to obtain a filming permission from the dead people's families.
In their turn, the media workers said that they were not violating anything, but had come to document Russia's crimes and would not be filming the bodies of the dead or making unethical close-ups of their faces.
"The bodies of those killed by Russia were lying under the covers, it was impossible to identify them," stressed Stanislav Kozlyuk.
Also, according to the photojournalist, the police arrived on the scene and he did talk to them, but the law enforcers did not forbid him to work.
However, three other journalists emphasized in their comments to the IMI representative in Dnipropetrovska oblast that it was the police who prohibited them to film the bags with dead bodies.
In her comment to the IMI representative in Dnipropetrovska oblast, the head of the media and public relations department of Dnipro RMA, Arzu Vasylyshyna, explained: "When the representatives of the Dnipro RMA and filming crews of other channels approached the place of the strike, the person from RMA saw the law enforcers reprimanding some media worker for filming. But the journalists did nto stop, so our representative said, we were all colleagues, let's listen to the recommendations of the law enforcers."
Arzu Vasylyshyna did not disclose he name of the RMA representative who addressed the journalists.
On June 13, 2023, a Russian attack, killed 10 people and injured 28 more in in Kryvyi Rih; one person is under the rubble.
3. "Dumska" journalists not admitted to a Oblast Council panel meeting in Odesa
20.06.2023 "Dumska" journalists were not allowed to attend a meeting of the Odesa Oblast Council conciliation panel on June 20, reports the website.
As the editors note, the National Guard officers guarding the administration building on Shevchenko Avenue refused to let journalists in despite the reporters having the necessary credentials. They promised that a press office staff member would come to escort them soon, but no one showed up.
The public communications head at the Odesa Oblast Council, Nazar Melnikov, told the regional representative of IMI that he had learned about the journalists' arrival after the start of the panel meeting and had been unable to leave the event to meet them.
According to him, the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1456 stipulates that under the martial law, the Odesa Oblast Council building should be guarded by the National Guard.
"This is why, unfortunately, reporters have to be escorted again. As the public communications head of the oblast council, I only heard about the arrival of the reporters after the conciliation panel meeting had already started, and could not leave the event to meet them. I would like to note that, as per the Oblast Council's decision made December 18, 2020, the conciliation panel is not a commission or a plenary meeting, which must be open. This is a work meeting of a consultative body, which discusses issues proposed for the plenary session," he said.
In addition, Melnikov asked the media representatives to contact him at least 10 minutes before the start of the event "to avoid such situations in the future."
IMI lawyer Roman Holovenko noted that he does not think it is entirely appropriate for the oblast council to cite the Resolution No. 1456, which approves the Procedure for reviewing personal documents, inspecting things, vehicles, baggage and cargo, office premises and private houses of citizens under martial law. After all, there were not any suspicious items found with the journalists, and the issue is why they were not allowed to enter the building.
"It is unclear what prevented the public communications department from appointing a separate employee who would be on duty in the corridor to meet reporters before the beginning and at least during the first half of the conciliation panel meeting," the lawyer pointed out.
4. "Dumska" journalists denied access to an Odesa Oblast Council session
23.06.2023 On June 23, Odesa Oblast Council staff did not allow "Dumska" journalists Oleksandr Himanov and Vitaliy Prus to attend an Odesa Oblast Council session, reports the media outlet.
According to the report, they were prevented from entering by order of the head of the Council's legal department, Roman Lebedyev, who apparently had questions about the publication's credentials. The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine member certificate did not help.
The editors said that they regarded this as a gross violation of the right to information and freedom of speech, and that they believed that the incident had to do it with their articles criticizing the Council's chair, Hryhoriy Didenko, and the "Servant of the People's" coalition with the banned OPFL which has emerged in the Oblast Council.
At the same time, "Dumska" noted that it was currently undergoing registration according to the procedure established by the Law of Ukraine "On Media".
The media outlet is also preparing a statement with the police, as it believes that the Oblast Council officialshave committed an offense provided for in Part 3 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstructing the legal professional work of journalists).
Intent writes that, responding to the head of the European Solidarity faction, Mykhailo Shmushkovych, and his remarks on the journalists being prevented from entering the session hall, the Oblast Council chair, Hryhoriy Didenko, said that "We have heard that there was no mass media outlet called Dumska.net."
The IMI representative in Odesa oblast tried to get a comment from the Oblast Council regarding denying access to the journalists, but never received a reply.
5. Kharkiv journalists prevented from filming in a public space without the mayor's permission
27.06.2023 In Kharkiv, on June 26, municipal security guards prevented reporters from Channel 5 and Channel 24 from filming in the Shevchenko Garden without a permission from the mayor, Ihor Terekhov.
Channel 5 journalist Ksenia Necheporenko told IMI about this.
According to her, they were in the Garden filming a story about the girl who had recently protested a performance by the singer Svitlana Loboda.
The reporter says that a security guards approached them as they were interviewing the report's hero and started asking them what they were doing, to which the journalists replied that they were filming an interview with activists. The security guard left, but later another man walked up to the reporters, introduce himself as the Shevchenko Garden's head of security. The journalist notes that the man did not show them any documents.
"He started asking what we were filming there, whether we had a permission. When we replied that we did, he started sking what kind of permission we had. We answered that journalists have permission to film in public places according to the law of Ukraine. To this, he said that in order to film in the Garden, we must obtain a permission from Mr. Terekhov. He told us so just like that. The security guard said that without Terekhov's permission we could not film anything," Ksenia said.
She added that they refused to stop filming and advised him to contact the police if he believed they were breaking the law.
The incident ended with the journalists insisting that they were working in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine and the media law, after which the security guard turned around and left.
"We once again told him that if we were breaking the law, he could call the police. And he asked on what grounds he should call the police. I repeated that we were working in accordance with the Constitution and the laws, he realized that we would not leave and would continue with our work, so he turned around and left," the journalist said.
The journalists of both channels do not plan to contact the police regarding this situation. According to Ksenia, the security guards did not use physical violence, did not touch their cameras, only "attempted verbal pressure."
6. UOC MP parishioners in Cherkasy attack a 18000 reporter, damage his equipment
30.06.2023 In Cherkasy, on June 29, parishioners of the Holy Candlemas church of the UOC MP attacked Maksym Tkachenko, a videoreporter for the media outlet 18000, and damaged his equipment, writes the media.
The incident happened after a meeting where the community decided to switch from the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The decision was made unanimously.
However, according to the media, some of the parishioners who support the UOC gathered behind the church's fence and refused to let the public and the reporters enter the premises.
"During the filming, I approached the church. The parishioners weren't letting anyone in there, and they weren't letting anyone out, either. So at first I had to film through the fence, it was a nuisance. So I thought I'd try and film from under the gate. As I was switching the camera to a different mode, someone kicked my hand and the camera. After that, the microphone broke away. It works but is damaged. I didn't see who did it. They initially took my microphone away into the church premises, but after I said that I would call the police, they thrw it out of the gate," Maksym Tkachenko said.
The editors filed a police statement on obstruction of journalistic work.
As IMI reported, on February 21, 2023, lawyer Ihor Holubchyk prevented journalists from the local newspaper "18000" from covering a public meeting of supporters of UOC (MP) Metropolitan Bishop Theodosius near the Cherkasy District Prosecutor's Office. At that moment, the clergyman himself was inside the Prosecutor's Office, where he was being interrogated for an investigation. At first, Holubchyk and other unidentified persons were trying to cover the reporters' cameras, and then started pushing them away from Theodosius, who at that moment was exiting the building.
On February 20, the SBU issued a suspicion notice for inciting inter-religious enmity to the head of the UOC (MP) Cherkasy Diocese, Theodosius.
Property damage and attacks on journalists' homes – 1
1. House of former newspaper editor and Facebook group admin set on fire in Rivne oblast
22.06.2023 In Kostopil (Rivne oblast), the former district newspaper editor, writer and founder of the Facebook community "Our Kostopil", Oleksandr Namozov, says that his house had been set on fire and that he views this as an attempt on his life, Suspilne reports.
A fire broke out on his property on the night of June 16; he wrote about it on Facebook and suggested that the authorities might be behind it. According to the Kostopil City Council, such allegations "sound like libel."
"For three years, I have been constantly criticizing them (local authorities. – Ed.) for mismanagement, for embezzling the community's money. I criticize them in my group "Our Kostopil". Posted two such materials yesterday. Apparently, the guys lost their nerve and decided to be done with me. I criticize the government more often than I praise it. They know that I can not be intimidated," Oleksandr Namozov told Suspilne.
According to him, before going through with the planned arson, the criminals neutralized two dogs – a Labrador and a shepherd.
"They used electronic devices to neutralize the dogs. The dogs are alive, but were paralyzed for some time. The house was set on fire in four spots. Doused with a mixture of gasoline and fuel. I was at home and awake. I lay there and felt like I wasn't getting enough air. I stepped outside, and my house was already on fire. I managed to jump out of there five minutes after the fire began, saved by fate. The police and emergency services worked well. They told me: 'If you had been asleep, you would've suffocated on carbon monoxide in 5-10 minutes,'" Namozov said.
Oleksandr Namozov used to be a local journalist and the editor of a district newspaper, now he is in retirement. He says that he arson was triggered by his posts about the government in a local Facebook community.
The oblast police noted that around 1 a.m., a group of investigators and cynologists arrived at the crime scene. The police established that unknown persons had set fire to the front door of the house of the Kostopil resident, aged 63.
The police questioned the neighbors and the victim. The latter pointed to the people he suspects of being the perpetrators and said that he believes the incident has to do with his work.
"At the time the crime was committed, the victim was in his country house. When he heard the acrid smell of smoke, he went outside and saw that the front door was on fire. The man extinguished the fire on his own and called the emergency services. The fire damaged the wooden door and the walls were partially covered in soot. No one was injured by the fire," said oblast police press officer Yulia Dudnik.
The police examined the crime scene and collected clues: shoe prints, traces of fuel and lubricants which the intruders used to douse the house, and other evidence.
The investigators have started a pre-trial investigation under Part 2 of Article 347-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: intentional damage to property belonging to a journalist by way of arson, explosion or other generally dangerous means. Such actions are punishable by imprisonment for six to fifteen years.
Suspilne has asked the spokeswoman of the Kostopil City Council, Anastasia Kovalenko, for a comment and received the official response citing the city's acting mayor, Davyd Didukh:
"There are law enforcement authorities that should investigate the incident and give their assessment. Allegations of any kind, against any person, including state officials, sound like libel, which this citizen has repeatedly practiced in his posts before."
CENSORSHIP. INFORMATION ACCESS
Access to information – 1
1. Communal hospital responds to a request by "Procherk" journalist a month and a half later
20.06.2023 The Smila City Hospital, which is a communal non-commercial enterprise of the Smila City Council (Cherkasy oblast), responded to an inquiry by a "Procherk" journalist a month and a half later.
As the publication reports, journalist Nazariy Vivcharyk filed his request on April 24, asking to provide the contract signed between the hospital and the National Health Service of Ukraine. The hospital said that they had received the request. On April 28, the journalist sent a reminder about the request.
However, the newspaper writes, the hospital responded on May 4 with a letter that did not contain the requested information. The Smila hospital said that the reason for such a decision is the institution ubgrading their website.
The journalist contacted other medical institutions in the oblast while working on his story. Those provided responses on time.
In the end, Vivcharyk filed a complaint with the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner on Human Rights, asking him to take action to defend the violated rights and bring the guilty parties to justice as per the law of Ukraine.
The publication wanted to report on the free guaranteed treatment offered to patients due to the difficult economic and security situation, as well as a significant decrease the citizens' income.
After the complaint to the Commissioner and the publication of the report, the Smila hospital did provide a copy of the contract with the NHSU on June 8.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH DEFENSE
The authorities' response to freedom of speech violations – 3
1. Khmelnytsky court obliges the City Council to consider an information request by ZHAR.INFO
01.06.2023 On June 1, the Khmelnytsky District Administrative Court granted the request by ZHAR.INFO journalist Alyona Bereza, declared the inaction of the Khmelnytsky City Council executive committee to be unlawful, and ordered it to consider the media outlet's information request. ZHAR.INFO editors reported this to IMI.
On April 19, the journalist sent an information request to the Khmelnytsky City Council, asking for inspection reports for all (buildings) of the secondary educational institutions (secondary comprehensive schools, educational complexes, preschool comprehensive educational institutions, specialized schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, collegiums) in Khmelnytsky in order to find whether they can be used by citizens as basic bomb shelters. On April 25, the journalist's request was declined by the executive committee of the City Council.
In turn, ZHAR.INFO appealed to the court, asking them to oblige the Khmelnytsky City Council to provide the requested information. As soon as May 9, the Khmelnytsky District Administrative Court began the proceedings in this case.
In their decision, the court notes that an analysis the refusal showed that it did not meet the requirements set out in Article 22 Part 4 of the Law of Ukraine "On Access to Public Information", namely "it is not explained in what way and on the basis of which legal act the requested information is classified as confidential; the procedure for appealing the refusal is not outlined."
The court also concluded that the defendant failed to prove that providing such information would be detrimental to national security, territorial integrity, or public order.
"The court rules that the appeal to recognize the unlawful inaction constituted by the Khmelnytsky City Council Executive Committee's refusal to provide information to the plaintiff following their 04.19.2023 request for access to public information should be satisfied," reads the ruling of the Khmelnytsky District Administrative Court, which the journalist received by email.
The only thing that the court did not grant was the request to oblige the defendant to report on the fulfilment of the court's ruling. The court believes that "taking into account the circumstances of this case, the court has no reason to believe that the subject of authority will violate the law by not complying with the court's decision, the decision must be fulfilled immediately." That is why this part of the request was refused.
In general, the court recognized the actions of the Khmelnytsky City Council executive committee to be unlawful and obliged them to consider the a request as required by the Law of Ukraine "On Access to Public Information", taking into account the court's findings.
The court levied a court fee of 1,073 (one thousand and seventy-three) hryvnias 60 kopiykas in favor of the plaintiff. The decision can be contested through an appeal.
2. Odesa "Municipal Watch" members who beat journalists with batons get suspended sentences
01.06.2023 The Primorsky District Court of Odesa found several "Municipal Watch" members guilty of obstructing the professional work of journalists. The court passed such a decision on June 1, reports "Sudovy Reporter".
We remind you that on July 13, 2018, a fight between members of the communal entity "Municipal Watch" and journalists broke out in a parking lot on Nekrasov Street in downtown Odesa. The "Nerozkryti Zlochyny" editor-in-chief Kostyantyn Slobodyaniuk and two reporters from the newspaper "Suspilny Prybiy", Myroslav Bekchiv and Vitaly Tkachenko, were injured in the attack.
According to the investigation, two members of the "Municipal Watch" beat the "Suspilny Prybiy" correspondent and the "Nerozkryti Zlochyny" editor with rubber batons while they were conducting a journalistic investigation.
The police opened a case under three articles of the Criminal Code: Part 2 of Art. 296 ("Hooliganism"), Art. 171 ("Obstruction to the legal professional work of journalists") and Art. 345-1 ("Threats or violence against a journalist"). In October of the same year, the Odesa Prosecutor's Office No. 3 submitted indictments against two "Municipal Watch" members to the court.
The journalists came to 1 Nekrasov Street to interview representatives of the law firm "Redut" regarding a conflict in the parking lot. During the interview, three cars with the inscription "Municipal Watch" drove up to the place. Strangers in uniform got out of the car and started disassembling the fences around the traffic stops.
The journalist started filming the guards' actions; the men shouted obscene curses at him and hit him in the face, threatening to break his camera. In the video, one can hear the remark: "What, you're immortal or something?.. Who do you think you are, filming me like that? Keep filming. 'Cause I'll break your camera and I'll break your face, too, you."
One of the bodyguards punched the journalist's face and then his video camera, after which his companion also punched the journalist in the face.
According to the court, only one of the journalists having a reporter's ID card (badge) on the lanyard around his neck is sufficient confirmation that the people around knew that the man was a journalist.
The court came to an unequivocal conclusion that the victim had no intention of filming the accused and the latter's rights have not been violated.
The CE "Municipal Watch" members never pleaded guilty and showed disrespect towards the injured journalist during the trial. One of them said that he had pushed the journalist because the latter had been chasing him and filming, which he had disliked because he was not a public figure.
They were found guilty of obstructing the legal professional work of journalists and of threatening and attacking a journalist (Part 3 of Article 171, Part 1, 2 of Article 345-1 of the Criminal Code).
According to Article 171 of the Criminal Code, the term of liability is three years and has already expired.
Therefore, the men were only arrested for threats and violence against a journalist. They were sentenced to two and three years of imprisonment, released from serving the sentence with a probationary period of one and a half and two years respectively.
21.06.2023 The prosecutor's office of Oleksandria district (Kirovohrad oblast) issued a suspicion notice to a resident of Oleksandria, aged 38, for obstructing the work of a Suspilne filming crew. This is reported on the website of the Kirovohrad Oblast Prosecutor's Office.
The man is accused of committing a crime outlined in Part 1 of Art. 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstructing the legal professional work of journalists).
The investigation has found out that on May 27, the Suspilne filming crew was reporting on the community's religious meetings in Pryiutivka village (Oleksandria district, Kirovohrad oblast). The suspect was present at the meeting and was a supporter of one of the parties to the conflict. The man tried to interfere with the work of the filming crew that had arrived at the event to cover the religious gathering. The suspect snatched the phone from the hands of a correspondent who was using it to record a video, and unlawfully stripped the media worker of the recorded material and the technical means of reporting.
"The suspect's illegal actions deprived the filming crew of the opportunity to perform their editorial task to later cover it on TV and on the channel's digital platforms. He did not respond to the request to give the phone back, left the scene, and disposed of the phone," the prosecutor's office reports.
Later, the police found the phone and returned it to the owner.
The suspect may face imprisonment for up to six months or restriction of freedom for up to three years.
As reported by IMI, on May 27, parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate obstructed the work of a journalist and operator with "Suspilne Kropyvnytsky" in Pryiutivka village (Kirovohrad oblast) while they were filming a church community's meeting about the transition to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
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