Freedom of Speech Barometer for November 2022

In November, IMI experts recorded 13 crimes against freedom of speech in Ukraine. Six of them were committed by Russia against Ukrainian media and journalists.

The Russian crimes include kidnapping, destroying TV towers, cyber crimes, etc.

At the same time, IMI recorded seven cases of freedom of speech violation for which Ukrainian citizens are responsible. These are cases of beating and attacks on journalists, restricting journalists' access to public information, cyber crimes, and indirect pressure.

These are the monitoring data by the Institute of Mass Information.

For instance, in November, Angela Slobodyan, journalist for the now closed TRC "Ukraina", said that she had been kept in a Russian isolation prison in then occupied Kherson. She spent nearly a month in there, and it was only in November that she spoke out about the invaders abusing her and other captives, as well as torturing Ukrainian POWs. In her comment to IMI she specified that she believes the detention to be connected with her journalistic work.

Moreover, a day before their retreat from Kherson, on November 10, the Russian troops blew up the local TV tower's transmission center, and then the TV tower itself.

In the meantime, in Poltava oblast, "Kozelshchynski Visti" newspaper closed down. Editor-in-chief Nadia Lytvyn said the reason for the closure was lack of funding. According to her, the publication's main source of income was advertising, but now the demand is gone because of the war.

In addition, in November, two Ukrainian media outlets reported Russian DDoS attacks on their websites – NikVesti and Detector Media. A day before the attacks, Russian Telegram channels posted calls for "downing" the websites.

The freedom of speech situation in Ukraine for which Ukrainian citizens are responsible

In November, IMI recorded seven cases of freedom of speech violation for which the Ukrainian side is responsible. These include cases of beating and attacks on journalists, restricting journalists' access to public information, cyber crimes and indirect pressure. Such cases were recorded in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk oblast, Rivne oblast, and Poltava oblast.

IMI recorded Priamy Kanal and Stopcor journalists being beaten and attacked in Zhovti Vody, Dnipropetrovsk oblast, while filming the rallying tobacco factory workers who had set up tents in the factory's courtyard and were standing guard on its premises day and night. In Kyiv, an unknown man attacked journalist Yulia Zabelina near her home. This is the second attack she's suffered in the last two months. In a comment to IMI she said that she believes the incident has to do with her journalistic work. Yet, she does not rule out the possibility that "some crazy reader" was stalking her.

Local authorities in Sarny city, Rivne oblast, and in Zaporizhzhia have been restricting journalists' access to public information. The editors of five Zaporizhzhia media outlets asked the Zaporizhzhia City Council to resume online livestreams of City Council sessions. The reason for this appeal was the draft Regulation on remote meetings of the City Council, its executive committee and deputy commissions. The Sarny City Council failed to provide Chetverta Vlada with information about the salaries of the Sarny City Council's top officials, despite the media having sent two requests. Only after Chetverta Vlada filed a complaint to the Commissioner and made the information on the obstruction of journalistic activities public did the state body respond to the journalists' request.

Moreover, IMI recorded one case of indirect pressure on journalists by the President's Office, whose head, instead of replying to a request from Bihus.info regarding staff appointments at Ukrnafta, made it public. Bihus.Info editor and journalist, Alisa Yurchenko, considers such a response an attempt not only to avoid answering, but also to discredit the journalistic profession.

RUSSIA'S CRIMES

Kidnapping – 1

1. "They were trying to crush us," says journalist about living in a Russian torture camp in Kherson

10.11.2022 Angela Slobodyan, journalist for the now closed TRC "Ukraina", said that she had been kept in a Russian isolated cell in occupied Kherson and spoke about the invaders abusing their captives and torturing Ukrainian POWs.

She wrote about it on her Facebook page. Angela Slobodyan confirmed to IMI that she consents to the story of her Russian captivity being published, but without the details.

She spent about a month in a Kherson detention center which the Russians turned into a torture camp. "Psych ward No. 6. That's what we called our cell No. 6 in the Kherson detention center. Faina, Olya, Svitlana, Natalya, and I as the patients, supervised by our torturers. No, they did not beat us. They had other kinds of 'injections' for women. They tried to humiliate and crush us. Ruthlessly," she wrote.

According to Slobodyan, they could hear the occupiers kill a prisoner and then wrap his body in plastic (the Kadyrovites "overdid it" while interrogating him), could hear them raping men outside the cell door.

"We knew where our lads were being tortured with electric current, where they were being beaten and where they were being forced to talk. Black shadows in the moonlight. They don't know what pain is. They inject droplets of their toxins into everything that lives. Wretched creatures. Horrifying experience. To live... We, the Psych Ward No.6 patients, started every new day with the thought that WE MUST SURVIVE. Not everyone did," Angela Slobodyan recalls.

The girl said that her 66-year-old roommate Faina had a stroke and died. The woman had been taken prisoner because her son was a volunteer.

Two more women were detained "because of who their husband and brother were."

"Svitlanka. We shared a bunk bed with her. There were three beds for five people. Svitlana had been 'taken away' because of her husband. They let her go because 'they didn't need her anymore.' Took her out for questioning and said, 'your husband has been killed, you are free to go.' Another life broken. Olya. A teacher. They released her on day 33. Didn't question her once. She was being held captive because of her brother," the journalist said.

Angela was released from the detention center after 30 days in captivity. "I was constantly imagining myself getting out, no longer hearing the noise of the metal gate... leaving everything behind... The next day, I was standing at the gate. Took a friend along and brought a 'package' for my folks. Natalya. They kept her there for almost 4 months. Bogus accusations. Today I learned that she had gotten out of the torture camp. Now we are in different cities in Ukraine. Our Psych Ward No. 6 will meet again, albeit not in full. But we will for sure. In our Kherson, freed from evil. We have faith!" she added.

According to the journalist's information, which she received from those who had been "evacuated" from the Kherson detention center, the Kherson Mayor, Ihor Kolykhayev, is currently in custody in Kalanchak. He lost a lot of weight, has some health problems.

She was also told that 36 people were "evacuated" from the Kherson detention center. "From Hola Prystan to Novotroitske. Took them two weeks to move everybody. As they were doing it, they left 3 women in Kherson, I know their names, I will pass them on to the Prosecutor's office. People are being held in the police station. The occupiers are letting the detainees go without documents, money, or phones," Angela Slobodyan wrote.

We remind that since the start of the full-scale invasion, IMI has recorded 19 cases of journalists being captured or kidnapped.

TV tower shelling – 2

1. Russian troops blow up a TV center in Kherson

10.11.2022 This afternoon, the Russian military blew up the Kherson TV tower's transmission center. The locals informed IMI's regional representative about this.

According to the interviewees, the TV tower itself is intact.

The Russians also blew up some of the telecom towers and cut off the city's power supply.

You can only catch the signal and communicate with the outside world in the area near Antonivka, which is not far from Kherson.

We remind that on March 3 in Kherson, the occupiers took over the premises of Suspilne branch, the staff continues to work remotely. Armed men set up trip wires around the building. In addition, the occupiers, who had seized the television studio and the TV center, cut off the Ukrainian television signal and started streaming their propaganda via T2.

The Russian troops also looted the Suspilne Kherson branch.

The Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal investigation into the seizure and mining of the Kherson branch of Suspilne Broadcaster by Russian security forces. The case has been opened under Art. 341, part 1 of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: seizure of state or public buildings, facilities, as well as for violations of the laws and customs of war.

2. Russians blow up a TV tower in Kherson while retreating

12.11.2022 While retreatig from Kherson to the left bank of the Dnipro, the Russian occupiers blew up a TV tower.

The head of the city's military administration, Halyna Luhova, told Suspilne about this.

"The TV tower in Kherson has been blown up indeed. It is down on the ground. This is true. We are currently taking measures to restore our connection. Because the occupiers completely destroyed the places where our telecom stations' connectivity was strong," said Lugova.

Kherson's "Vhoru" Media Platform published photos of the tower that had fallen down in the Khersonska Fortetsia Park on their Telegram channel.

The photos show that the structure is completely destroyed.

We remind that on March 3 in Kherson, the occupiers took over the premises of Suspilne branch, the staff continues to work remotely. Armed men set up trip wires around the building. In addition, the occupiers, who had seized the television studio and the TV center, cut off the Ukrainian television signal and started streaming their propaganda via T2.

The Russian troops also looted the Suspilne Kherson branch.

The Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal investigation into the seizure and mining of the Kherson branch of Suspilne Broadcaster by Russian security forces. The case has been opened under Art. 341, part 1 of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: seizure of state or public buildings, facilities, as well as for violations of the laws and customs of war.

A day before fleeing from Kherson, on November 10, 2022, the Russian military blew up the Kherson TV tower's transmission center.

Cyber crimes – 2

1. "NikVesti" website suffers a DDoS attack

25.11.2022 On November 24, Mykolaiv online publication "NikVesti" suffered a DDoS attack. The media outlet's editor-in-chief Oleh Derenyuha informed the IMI representative in Mykolaiv oblast about this.

According to him, the website has been under attack since 12:15 p.m., and tech support was working on solving the problem.

Derenyuha added that the website worked intermittently. "It's not just the power shortages. Since 12:15, the site has been under a DDoS attack. This is not the first time that they tried to meddle in our work in the course of the war. We are working on restoring the website," Oleh Derenyuha said.

At 17:40, the publication's website was functional.

The editors of the publication believe the attack on the website has to do with Russian "cyber troops". Yesterday morning, one of their Telegram channels posted information about the website with a call to "down it".

We remind that the publication's website suffered a cyber attack on May 18. Back then, Oleh Derenyuha didn't deny that the attack's source was the Russian Federation. "It is possible that someone in russia is upset with our content. Last night, for example, we received an official warning letter from Yandex, stating that they are forced to turn off 'NikVesti's' news because the publication with the intercepted conversation between russian soldiers is violates their rules and contains obscene language," Oleh Derenyuha said.

2. Russian hackers attack "Detector Media" website

28.11.2022 On November 27, the website of the online publication "Detector Media" suffered a DDoS attack. The publication reported this on their Telegram channel.

"Russian hackers are attacking our site again. We are doing everything we can so that you can open the site," the editors wrote.

The cyber attack began in the evening after the "Narodnaya Cyber Armiya" Telegram channel posted a message proclaiming the DM website as the chosen "new target".

As IMI reported, the Russian group NoName057(16) carried out a DDoS attack on Detector Media on April 22.

In her comment to IMI, the head of "Detector Media", Natalya Lygachova, reported that on November 27, 2022, after the Russian Cyber ​​Army called for an attack on the detector.media website, the load on the site's server started increasing, which indicated that a DDoS attack may have begun.

"We decided to activate cloudflare (protection against DDoS attacks), which we had installed earlier. The protection turned on and started checking the website's visitors, opening a protective page for each new visitor, detecting the attacking bots. But the load on the server didn't decrease – it kept growing, approaching the critical point for the website's functioning, and the site would not always open in the browser. After talking to tech support for cloudflare and the server hoster, we decided to switch to internal algorithms against DDoS attacks.

"After that, during an activity check, we detected the attacking subnets and blocked them manually. During the next few hours, we recorded new attack attempts from new subnets, which were also blocked," Lygachova said.

According to her, thanks to the measures taken to identify and block the attackers, the load on the server decreased and the website was fully operational within 12 hours.

Media that closed down due to Russia's war on Ukraine – 1

 1. Poltava printed newspaper "Kozelshchynski Visti" closes down

09.11.2022 In Poltava oblast, the printed newspaper "Kozelshchynski Visti" has closed down. The last issue was released on November 9. The newspaper's editor-in-chief, Nadia Lytvyn, announced this on her Facebook page.

According to her, the main reason for the closure was lack of funding.

The editor-in-chief noted that the newspaper could not withstand the market tension, "the competition with its majesty the Internet and modern gadgets."

"Today, producing a printed edition is a luxury that we cannot afford, it is too expensive a hobby. In order to feed ourselves, we must ensure a print rate of at least 5,000 copies – which is unrealistic given the current demographic situation in our community. Moreover, one copy of a newspaper should cost at least thirty hryvnias today – are you all ready to pay this much for a newspaper? I doubt it..." Lytvyn wrote.

She noted that the publication's significant, if not the main, source of income used to be advertising. "Now the demand is effectively gone, and it's understandable: there's a war. And there won't be any in the future, either, because wealthy advertisers usually choose high-circulation publications. With our current print rate of 800 copies, we look more than impoverished, no one will want to invest in putting advertisements in our newspaper," she wrote.

According to Nadia Lytvyn, in order to publish a printed newspaper, you need at least four people on staff, provide them with a salary no lower than the minimum wage, pay all taxes, do office maintenance, and pay for the printing house's services.

"For the last six months, the editors have been running on sheer enthusiasm. Last winter, we had to work in the cold (and even now we don't heat our office to save money and electricity), with salary delays; but we tried (save for the one month and a half break we took at the beginning of the war) to publish new issues regularly, running solely on the donations from our caring friends from abroad and from local entrepreneurs," she wrote.

Lytvyn added that now all donations have ceased and no more income is expected.

The newspaper's last issue, released on November 9, was abridged, as they used the remainder of their funds to print it.

In a comment to IMI's representative in Poltava, Nadiya Lytvyn said that the editorial office did not plan to keep the newspaper running either in print or online.

"Our team is no more. Someone found another job, someone retired. No plans. No other publication. An overall fatigue from constant struggle for survival. After the denationalization, we were able to rent out an office on preferential terms, which costs huge money, while the law prohibits subletting. That is, we have been deprived of a stable source of income. Then there was the Ukrposhta reform, which simply killed us. They no longer deliver newspapers to villages at all, and we work for the villages. Next: the complete lack of advertisers. And, finally, the demographics: there is no one to subscribe to the newspaper anymore, not enough for the print rate to amount to a decent income, at any rate. We cannot set a real price because people are insolvent. For them, paying 8 hryvnias for a newspaper is expensive, and the cost price is 30 hryvnias. What is there to talk about? So, no more newspaper," said Nadia Lytvyn.

Crimea – 3

1. Occupiers in Crimea send a warning to Crimean Tatar journalist Zidan Ajikeliamov

04.11.2022 In the Russian-occupied Crimea, deputy chief of police of the Soviet district O. O. Sholomov sent "Crimean Solidarity" and "Grani.ru" journalist Zidan Ajikeliamov a warning about the inadmissibility of violating the law.

This was reported by the public association "Crimean Solidarity".

The warnings from the "law enforcers" cite Article 16 of the Federal Law of Russia "On Combating Extremist Activities" and mention "the inadmissibility of violating the law during public events, such as involving extremist organizations and forbidden symbols."

Should Ajikeliamov fail to comply with this law, the warning states, he will be prosecuted as an "organizer" and may be tried under a number of administrative and criminal articles. These include, the warning notes, "organizing mass riots," "public calls for extremism," "public calls for actions aimed at violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation."

At the same time, "Crimean Solidarity" notes, the police did not say what kind of public event they were talking about and why they consider Ajikeliamov its organizer.

In addition, the Russian authorities point out that it is forbidden to wear face-covering masks, the one exception being the Russian-controlled Crimea leader's decree "On the introduction of high alert regime." "It is unclear whether the police forbids wearing medical masks," Crimean Solidarity notes.

As the organization reminds, in previous years, the Russian-controlled Crimean prosecutor's office has been issuing numerous warnings "about the inadmissibility of unauthorized events" to lawyers, Crimean Tatar activists, citizen journalists, and human rights activists in multiple regions of Crimea.

2. Occupiers in Crimea forcibly subject journalist Temeryanov to a psychiatric examination

15.11.2022 Citizen journalist Vilen Temeryanov, arrested in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case, is in a psychiatric hospital in Simferopol. There, the political prisoner is being subject to a forced forensic examination.

His lawyer Marlen Khalikov informed Crimean Solidarity about this.

According to the lawyer, Temeryanov has been in the hospital for over 20 days, according to the decision of a Russian-controlled court, and may soon go back to the detention center.

The "court" sent the journalist to the Clinical Psychiatric Hospital No. 1 to undergo a compulsory forensic psychiatric examination.

It will be recalled that on August 11, Russian FSB officers searched Temeryanov's house in Vilne village (Canköy district, Crimea), Temeryanov being a correspondent for "Crimean Solidarity" and "Grani.ru". The law enforcers detained him on charges of participation in Hizb ut-Tahrir. The Islamic political party is banned in Russia and operates freely in Ukraine and most European countries. The authorities also raided and arrested five other Crimean Tatar activists on that day.

The Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir was declared a terrorist organization by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on February 14, 2003 at a closed court session. Human rights activists believe that this decision was unfounded, and transparency and equality of the parties were not observed, since only the prosecution (namely the FSB), took part in the closed process. At the same time, in Ukraine and most countries of the world, the organization operates without legal restrictions.

Since January 2015, Russia has been opening criminal "cases" against Hizb ut-Tahrir in occupied Crimea. According to human rights activists, the members of the organization are being persecuted not for planning a coup or engaging in terrorism, but for the party supporters' public actions against political repression in Crimea, consistent criticism of the Russian authorities, and mass disloyalty towards the Russian occupiers among Crimean Tatars.

3. Russian military court sentences three citizen journalists

24.11.2022 The Southern District Military Court sentenced five "Crimean Solidarity" activists to 13 to 14 years in a high-security prison.

This is reported by "Crimean Solidarity".

The Southern District Military Court's presiding judge Vyacheslav Korsakov, together with judges Denis Galkin and Igor Shendrikov, found the defendants guilty of terrorism and an attempted coup. Activists Enver Ametov and Yashar Muedinov were sentenced to 13 years in a high-security prison, and civilian journalists Ruslan Suleimanov, Rustem Sheikhaliev, and Osman Arifmemetov were sentenced to 14 years in prison. The political prisoners will spend four years in prison, and then their freedom of movement will be restricted for another year.

All of them have pleaded not guilty and consider their persecution to be politically motivated.

The restrictions include: a ban on leaving the place of permanent residence from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., leaving the territory of municipal education, a ban on changing the place of residence, an obligation to check in at the law enforcement inspectorate twice a month, and a ban on attending public events or participatig in them.

The islamic literature seized during searches is to be destroyed as forbidden goods. Other items will be returned, the arrest on Enver Ametov's land plot will be lifted.

"Crimean Solidarity" reminded that on March 27, 2019, in Crimea, in Simferopol's Kamyanka and Stroganivka neighborhoods, mass searches in multiple Crimean Tatar households took place at the same time. The investigation resulted in arrests on charges of terrorism, namely for participating in Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in the Russian Federation. 25 people were under investigation. Almost all of the detained were citizen journalists or public activists.

The five people to be detained together with Ruslan Suleimanov were conctruction worker Yashar Muedinov (54), math and computer science teacher Osman Arifmemetov (37), assistant cook Rustem Sheikhaliyev (43), conctruction worker Enver Ametov (47) and programmer Ruslan Sulmanov (39) himself. In addition to their main jobs, the political prisoners actively attended the trials against their compatriots, held journalistic live streams, and covered searches carried out by the occupation authorities.

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

Physical aggression

Beatings, attacks – 3

1. Priamy reports their filming crew being attacked by law enforcers in Zhovti Vody

02.11.2022 "Pryamy" TV channel reported their filming crew being attacked on the night of November 2 in Zhovti Vody, Dnipropetrovsk oblast.

As the channel reports, the journalists were on an editorial mission, filming the rallying tobacco factory workers who had set up tents in the factory's courtyard and were standing guard on its premises day and night.

"Today, around 2 a.m., the security forces cut the metal fence open and broke into the territory (of the factory – Ed.). They demanded that the journalists leave the premises, then they began beating them and the participants of the rally. Security forces with SBU badges beat the cameraman and smashed the TV channel's camera. All the while, thery were swearing obscenely. In total, about 300 law enforcers invaded the factory's territory. The people wore masks and only showed their SBU badges, no faces, no IDs. According to eyewitnesses, there were also representatives of other law enforcement agencies there," the channel reported.

The injured are journalist Halyna Fedorchenko and cameraman Oleksandr Dubyna.

According to Oleksandr Dubyna, SBU employees forbade him to film after he introduced himself.

"When the SBU officers arrived, they told all outsiders to leave the territory. One of the officers approached me and asked who I was. I introduced myself – who and from what channel. In response, they told me that filming was prohibited because there was an investigation underway. I asked that person to introduce himself and show me his documents. In response, I was once again told to leave the territory. Then one of the security policemen ordered to drag me outside. I headed towards the exit, took a few steps, and they started rushing me, saying, 'Walk faster,'" said the cameraman.

According to him, SBU officers rushed his leaving with blows to the head, back, and legs. In addition, the law enforcers smashed his camera.

"After I introduced myself as a mass media representative, I heard 'On your knees!' in response, and 'face down on the floor and stay down!' I was ordered to crawl. I crawled on my knees. An SBU officer told me to squat down and walk this way. I couldn't go fast like that, because a few minutes earlier my leg had been hit. In response, I heard, 'F*cking faster!' and hurried up as much as I could," said Dubyna.

One of the factory workers, who had also been beaten, helped Oleksandr.

"He led me away from the territory. The SBU and the police stopped us several times along the way, they did not beat us, but showed no interest in where we were coming from, beaten like that. In the end, we got out of that encirclement," added the Pryamy operator.

Journalist Halyna Fedorchenko was pressed against the wall by SBU employees, she said.

"Then the factory workers said that a car with law enforcers had arrived. All the workers began to gather downstairs at the central entrance. I wore a press badge around my neck. People in uniform approached the gate and shouted, 'Outsiders, leave the territory, you are obstructing the investigation.' The workers were shouting, 'Shame,' demanded that the law enforcers show the documents justifying their attival. No one showed any documents. The security officers started cutting the gate down with a disc grinder," she said.

"And then, a second later, there was a rapid change. Someone gave the security officers an order (I didn't understand what order, exactly), they pressed us against the wall of the factory, they knocked the other group's camera out of our hands, and they wanted to take away our phones. At that time, another journalist was trying to shoot a video on her phone. They started forcibly pushing us out, twisted the girl's arms back, she screamed, another cameraman's arms were also twisted back. The security forces were pushing us towards the exit. They didn't even give me a chance to pick up my things. The factory was surrounded by security forces, it was impossible to even get close to the territory," the journalist said.

In her comment to IMI, the State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman, Tetyana Sapyan, said that the Bureau is aware of the incident with the journalists, but the details and circumstances are currently being investigated by the SBI.

Later, "Pryamy" published a video of law enforcers attacking the channel's camera crew in Zhovti Vody, Dnipropetrovsk oblast. The attack on Pryamy's cameraman was recorded by Stop Corruption journalists, who published the according footage on the Stop Corruption YouTube channel and the StopCor Telegram channel.

The video shows law enforcement officer hitting the TV channel operator holding a camera in the neck. Then another security guard takes the camera away from him.

Later, a security officer with a yellow armband kicks the media representative. All the while, the law enforcers are swearing obscenely.

2. "StopCor" reports their filming crew was also attacked by law enforcers in Zhovti Vody

04.11.2022 The "Stop Corruption" project reports that on the night of November 2 in Zhovti Vody, Dnipropetrovsk oblast, their filming crew was also attacked by law enforcement officers.

Namely, journalist Oleksandra Serbin and the news agency's cameraman suffered bodily harm.

The "StopCor" journalists reportedly arrived to record the events taking place at a tobacco factory together with their colleagues.

According to journalist Oleksandra Serbin, at around 2 a.m., SBU officers started storming the enterprise. Around 02:16 a.m., the filming crew was beaten.

"Our crew was attacked. They beat not only StopCor's crew members, but also a journalist from the Priamy TV channel. They smashed and took away our camera. It was utter abuse, no one was paying attention to the fact that we are journalists. My phone was simply ripped out of my hands," said Serbin.

The media called the police to the scene. The law enforcement officers recorded the fact of an attack on the film crew, beating, obstruction of journalistic activity, and property being stolen.

"After that, around 3 a.m., we went to the hospital for an examination. The police and the investigative team went with us. After that, we went to the district police department to file a statement and provide an explanation," the journalist said.

3. Journalist Yulia Zabelina attacked in Kyiv again

25.11.2022 Yulia Zabelina, a political columnist for "Telegraf", reported that an unknown man attacked her near her house. This is the second attack she has suffered in the last two months. She reported this on her Facebook page on November 25.

According to her, the attacker's style resembled the attack that took place on September 5.

"A man in was wearing a black hood and groped my arm, then between my legs. Again, like two months ago. It was dark everywhere. I screamed and he ran away, and I ran. I ran to a neighbor," Yulia wrote.

She noted that she was unable to call the police, as there was no phone connection.

The journalist does not know what might be the reason for the attack, but noted that it was not an accident. "I don't know what I did wrong," she added.

Yulia Zabelina plans to leave Ukraine for a few days. She fears that the attack might happen again.

In a comment to IMI, Yulia Zabelina said that she had left Ukraine. According to her, her editor was able to call the police, but the police still have not contacted her.

She also added that she believed the attack has to do with her journalistic work. At the same time, she did not rule out that "some crazy reader" was stalking her.

As "Telegraf" notes, Yulia Zabelina is the media outlet's political columnist and parliamentary correspondent. After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, she has been actively helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and she had been engaged in volunteering even before that.

As IMI reported, on September 5, an unknown man attacked Yulia Zabelina, a political journalist for "Telegraf", as she was opening the front door of her house in Kyiv. She managed to escape.

After the incident, Yulia Zabelina contacted the police and filed a statement about the attack. The police initiated a criminal case under Article 296 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism).

The journalist does not rule out that this may be related to her professional work.

Censorship. Information access

Information access for journalists – 2

1. Zaporizhzhia journalists demand that livestreams of City Council sessions be resumed

14.11.2022 The editors of five Zaporizhia media appealed to the Zaporizhia City Council with a demand to resume the live streams of City Council sessions. The appeal's initiator, the head of NGO "Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center" Serhiy Sydorov, informed the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia oblast about this.

The official appeal was sent to the City Council Executive Committee, to the acting mayor Anatoly Kurtev and the City Council deputies on November 10, as well as made public for everyone who wants to support such a decision.

In the appeal, the media insist on the obligatory livestreams of the Council's remote meetings, standing committees, and the executive committee, which all willing citizens could have access to.

The journalists noted that they had read the draft Regulation on temporarily holding the Zapoizhzhia City Council meetings remotely for the duration of martial law, which is currently being discussed by City Council Committees and provides for the City Council temporarily ceasing online livestreams. And, media experts note, the document lacks provisions that regulate open access to remote meetings for mass media as well as citizens.

"We insist on the restoration of citizens' rights and the inclusion of provisions that make it mandatory to livestream the remote meetings of the Council, the standing committees, and the executive committee, with all interested citizens having access to them. The community must understand how the budget, which consists of their money, the taxpayers' money, is being managed. The number of viewers of the online session livestreams, held with the support of CE Municipal Television Network, was 100–120; every now and then this number exceeded 200. Therefore, there is a demand for open sessions not only in the media, but also among the community as a whole," the appeal states.

In addition, the editors recalled that two years ago, the authorities, "exploited the quarantine regulations to illegally restrict the media's access to the session hall." "The adoption of the Regulation on temporarily holding the Zapoizhzhia City Council meetings remotely, as it was prepared in October, will take us back to a similar situation. Now, during the war, amidst a general lack of money and an overall tense situation, the society's tolerance for corruption has dropped sharply. Closed City Council sessions will increase this tension within the community and lead to a general decline in trust towards the city authorities," the appeal reads.

The official appeal, which was sent to the City Council in paper, was signed by Serhiy Sydorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center; Kateryna Klochko, deputy editor of the Zaporizhzhia Website 061.ua; Oleksandr Chubukin, editor of the Public and Political Portal "Accent"; Kostyantyn Alekseyenko, editor of the "Zabor" website; Natalia Andreyeva, acting director and producer of the Zaporizhzhia regional branch of JSC "NSTU".

As Serhiy Sydorov told IMI, the reason for such an appeal was the draft Regulation on remote meetings of the City Council, the executive committee, and deputy commissions.

"I'm already used to receiving various draft decisions for the session, which they are no longer making public due to the war. In late October, I saw the draft Regulation on remote meetings of the City Council, the executive committee, and deputy commissions among those draft decisions. I looked through it, and among all the points, I couldn't find anything about online livestreams for the media and citizens. And the municipal channel used to livestream the sessions even during the covid era," said Serhiy Sydorov.

"I re-read the current restrictions on public information, saw that no one was restricting online access to sessions and other public meetings at the City Council, and realized that it was necessary to insist on appropriate amendments to this draft before it is adopted. I asked my colleagues whether they supported this initiative, I asked Yevhen Vorobyov from the Human Rights Platform to help with the legal justification. And we drew up an appeal to the City Council, signed by five editors from Zaporizhzhia. We also wrote an open letter based on it," he said.

We remind you that the law provides for a one month term for an official appeal to be considered. Today, access to public information is effectively blocked in Zaporizhzhia. The main reason for officials' unwillingness to address this is martial law.

2. Sarny City Council refuses to provide "Chetverta Vlada" with information on their top-ranking officials' salaries

30.11.2022 "Chetverta Vlada" was not provided with information about the salaries of the Sarny City Council's top officials, despite having sent two requests. Only after they filed a complaint to the Commissioner and made the information on the obstruction of journalistic activities public did the state body respond to the journalists' request.

This is reported on the publication's website.

The media outlet made a series of publications about the salaries of local councils' top officials. These materials were based on responses to their requests. The Sarny City Council is one of the state bodies that did not respond to "Chetverta Vlada's" requests. The journalists contacted them twice – in July and in October.

The media notes that the requests were sent to the Sarny City Council's official email address, and then the journalist repeatedly called the state body to find out when the response would arrive. However, the City Council basically ignored the journalists.

The response only arrived after the blog by "Chetverta Vlada" editor-in-chief Volodymyr Torbych was made public, the "100 requests to offender mayors" campaign was announced, and a complaint to the Human Rights Commissioner's Secretariat regarding the violation of the right to information was filed.

Then Vyacheslav Shymko, the head of affairs of the Sarny City Executive Committee, contacted the editors and reported that the council did not receive their requests, probably due to issues with the server. "It seems that requests to the Council should not be sent to the official e-mail, but announced publicly," the publication notes.

The agency requested copies of digital documents with information on the payments accrued to Sarny City Council chairman, Ruslan Serpeninov, and all his deputies, including all types of additional payments and allowances (with a transcript), bonuses, and material assistance for each month of the first half of 2022.

The publication sent a request for the third time (November 21) and received confirmation that the Sarny City Council received their letter. On November 22, the City Council reported that it had received a letter from the representative of the Human Rights Commissioner regarding the violation of the right to information and replied that it had not received the requests.

Indirect pressure

Other kinds of indirect pressure – 1

1. Head of PO publishes Bihus.Info's request regarding Ukrnafta instead of providing answers

17.11.2022 Bihus.Info editor and journalist, Alisa Yurchenko, reported that the head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, decided to make her request (addressed personally to him) public through his advisor, Mykhailo Podoliak. She wrote about this on Facebook and published the reply she received from Yermak.

She said that she had sent the request while working on a report about Yermak's associates being appointed to various state bodies and state-owned enterprises.

In the request, she offered Yermak to record an interview and provided the list of questions. Namely, she was going to ask him about a former employee of Andriy Yermak's legal company and the head of his office being recently appointed to the supervisory board of Ukrnafta.

"Today, we received a reply from the PO saying that Andriy Yermak had decided to publish my request – instead of answering the questions. And that he will pass the request, which was addressed to him personally, to... the staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. And a few hours later, Mykhailo Podolyak published my request, addressed to Andriy Yermak, and added the context regarding the unpublished material which he made up himself. He called it an attempt to 'cast a shadow on the joint decision... of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's staff in someone's commercial interest," Yurchenko wrote.

The journalist believes that Yermak's decision to publish her request through Podolyak is a "manipulative attempt to avoid answering all the questions raised in the request." And Podolyak has discredited the upcoming material, which he had not seen, in advance, Yurchenko noted.

Mykhailo Podolyak posted the journalist's request today on his Telegram channel. He noted that usually they do not publish requests from journalists, but "this one seemed extremely strange and, as I understand, had very specific intentions."

"And it wouldn't have been a big deal if it wasn't about searching for a black cat in a transparent room. Or, more precisely, about attempts to cast a shadow on the joint decision... of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's staff in someone's commercial interest," he wrote.

At the same time, Podolyak reminded that a full-scale war for the very existence of the Ukrainian state is going on. And, according to him, the decision to alienate Ukrnafta was made by the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

"The decision to alienate Ukrnafta (which had been in the hands of oligarchs for years), as well as four other critically important enterprises, was made by the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. This is a deliberate, balanced, joint decision adopted unanimously by the state's military-political leadership. These enterprises, including Ukrnafta, were not handed over to the President's Office. They have been handed over to the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the duration of martial law," he wrote.

"It would seem that everything is clear, obvious, on the surface. And yet, I will allow myself to ask a question back. Does anyone really want to leave an enterprise which is crucial for the military in wartime to… an oligarch? Except, of course, the oligarch himself. I am also convinced that the Staff's decision is unquestionably supported by society and the journalistic community..." wrote Podolyak.

Online pressure

Cyber attacks – 1

1. "Kolo" journalist reports being cyberbullied over an article about the City Council secretary

29.11.2022 Editor-in-chief of the Poltava online publication "Kolo", Tetyana Cyrulnyk, faced cyberbullying following her news story about the Poltava City Council secretary, Andriy Karpov. She informed the IMI representative in Poltava oblast about this.

An October 26 news report titled "The price for 8 years of Vata Show: Poltava City Council secretary Andriy Karpov is raising money for an operation," has a reference to the official's Telegram channel, where he wrote about his treatment and the fundraising campaign. Karpov posted this article on his social media, having taken screenshots from the "Kolo" website. The official accused the journalist of distorting the truth, claiming that she had written a news article with the headline "Karpov is raising money for penis enlargement/reduction surgery."

After that, Karpov's supporters started humiliating and insulting the journalist in the comments under his Facebook post. Tetyana Cyrulnyk said that at first, she had no plans of contacting the police. On her Facebook page, she published an address to Petro Poroshenko, the leader of the "European Solidarity" party, which the City Council secretary belongs to, considering this an effective way to influence Andriy Karpov. She asked Poroshenko to defend her from Karpov, adding that journalists only started to cover his activities after he was elected as a Poltava City Council deputy from the ES party, and then as secretary of the Poltava City Council.

In a conversation with the IMI representative, the journalist said that lawyers advised her to write a statement with the cyber police or file a lawsuit. In the end, she wrote a statement to the police.

"I really don't want to take this situation to court: as the story of Poltava journalist Darina Synytska shows, a case for threats and cyberbullying can go on for years, so it takes a lot of time and money, and the result will be 'blurry.' And to feel uncertain for such a long time is a considerable psychological trauma. But it will have to be done, because if the official is not stopped now, he will become more and more insolent in the future. So, after my official video address to Poroshenko on November 4 backfired (Andriy Karpov wrote another post about me, where he put all the blame on me), on November 7, I filed a complaint with the police," she said.

Moreover, on November 10, Cyrulnyk appealed to the Commission for Journalistic Ethics and the Mediacheck initiative to assess her articles about Andriy Karpov, and is waiting for their conclusions. She also plans to file a complaint about the official's behavior with the City Council.

The IMI representative tried to get a comment from Andriy Karpov, but the official did not answer her phone calls. The regional representative cannot text him on Facebook, because Andriy Karpov has blocked her. Also, as of now, texting Karpov on Telegram is no longer an option, either – the official probably has the IMI representative's number blocked on this platform as well.

Roman Holovenko, the head of legal projects at IMI, notes that amendments should be made to the legislation to protect journalists from cyberbullying. "Hypothetically, you can try to consider this as influence on the journalist under part 2 of Art. 171 of the Criminal Code, but if offensive comments were written only under Andriy Karpov's post, then how do you prove that the commentators were aware that the journalist would read them," said the lawyer.

Freedom of speech defense

The authorities' reaction to freedom of speech violations – 1

1. AR Crimea Prosecutor's Office issues a suspicion notice to a FSB officer complicit in torturing Yesypenko

21.11.2022 The Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol issued a suspicion notice to a Russian FSB operatice complicit in the torture and illegal imprisonment of Radio Liberty journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko. The Prosecutor's Office announced this on their Facebook page. The suspect's actions are classified as violation of the laws and customs of war (Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

According to the investigation, the Russian citizen who holds the position of "senior operational officer of the FSB of Russia in the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol", took part in enforcing the Russian policy of persecuting the pro-Ukrainian population of the peninsula.

Namely, in March 2021, near Perevalne village, the suspect illegally detained Yesypenko, who had been in Crimea on a work trip for the past few months. Upon inspecting the journalist's car, the operative allegedly "discovered" an explosive device in it. Without any procedural formalities, the suspect detained the journalist and took him to Bakhchisaray together with other "law enforcers", putting him in a basement.

"Using physical force, tasers, and moral pressure, the 'law enforcers' forced the detainee to confess to a crime he did not commit, namely the illegal manufacturing, processing, or repair of explosive devices. He was also forced to sign the procedural documents prepared by the mentioned operative in advance and to name the location of the secret explosives stash. According to the occupiers, it was the place where Yesypenko was getting the components for the grenade allegedly found in his car," the investigation notes.

Thus, the Prosecutor's Office notes, the suspect violated the prohibitions stipulated by the 1949 Convention on the Protection of the Civilian Population in Time of War, as well as the laws and customs of war.

As IMI reported, on August 18, the russia-controlled Supreme Court of Crimea reduced Vladyslav Yesypenko's sentence from six to five years in a general regime colony. The journalist's defense is going to contest this ruling in cassation and request parole for Yesypenko in half a year. Yesypenko will also have to pay a fine of 110,000 russian rubles.

Yesypenko is being held in the "penal colony №2 of the FPS Administration in the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol" in Kerch.

On February 16, the russian-controlled Simferopol District Court sentenced Krym.Realii freelancer Vladyslav Yesypenko to six years in penal colony for alleged illegal storage and transportation of an explosive device.

Speaking in court on February 15, Yesypenko said the case was politically motivated.

Vladyslav Yesypenko was detained on March 10, 2021. He took part in a demonstration dedicated to Taras Shevchenko's birth anniversary, which took place in Simferopol on March 9. Vladyslav Yesypenko was charged with gathering information "in the interests of Ukraine's special services," including the Foreign Intelligence Service, the russian FSB's Public Relations Center reported. According to the FSB, Yesypenko "had been performing photo and video recording of the area, welfare facilities, and places of mass gatherings of people in the Crimea."

Vladyslav Yesypenko has stated that FSB investigators had tortured him in order to extract a confession from him.

The journalist community's response – 2

1. Journalists and media CSOs demand that the accreditation revoked for reporting from Kherson be restored

14.11.2022 Ukrainian and foreign journalists and media organizations demand that the authorities take immediate action to resolve the conflict caused by the inefficiency and unprofessionalism of the Ministry of Defense communication structures, namely the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces.

This is stated in an address to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the UAF Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny, and the Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov.

In particular, the authors and signatories demand that the authorities restore the accreditation of the Ukrainian and foreign media workers who covered the events in Kherson and who, according to the General Staff's reports, were stripped of accreditation for this.

Moreover, the journalists demand an internal investigation into the "unprofessional work of the OC 'South' communications department and the general communications sector of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and that appropriate staffing decisions be made."

"We demand that the redundant and inefficient bureaucracy be streamlined, namely by getting rid of the suporfluous documents and approvals demanded by the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces. Journalists already have accreditation from the Ministry of Defense, which constitutes an official permit to work. Additional documents and permits, which are being issued unprofessionally and selectively at that, are complicating the work of journalists and are detrimental to covering the most important events in Ukraine for the Ukrainian and global audience," the statement reads.

Here is the full address:

We, Ukrainian and foreign journalists and media organizations, demand that the authorities take immediate action to resolve the conflict caused by the inefficiency and unprofessionalism of the Ministry of Defense communication structures, namely the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces.

The on-the-ground reports made by Ukrainian and foreign journalists in liberated Kherson contribute significantly to our victory. The footage shot by our colleagues from CNN, SkyNews, and other leading foreign and Ukrainian media has spread all over the world. They have become a testament to the joy with which the people of Kherson met the Ukrainian troops, thereby refuting the Russian propaganda's lies. Their reports are also extremely important as documents of Ukrainian history, which is being made right now.

Yet, the Ministry of Defense communication structures, which failed to build a mechanism for journalist admission, decided to simply forbid journalists from working in the newly liberated city altogether, citing the risks of being there.

We would like to remind you that the professional journalists who have received official accreditation from the Ministry of Defense have sufficient skills, have undergone numerous trainings, have international safety certificates and vast experience of working on the front line.

Those Ukrainian and foreign journalists who got to Kherson without fulfilling all the requirements of the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces have been stripped of their accreditation and will no longer be able to cover events on the front line and in the area near the front, and foreign correspondents may no longer be able work in Ukraine at all.

The failure to understand the specifics of journalists' work during the war and the reluctance to create equal and transparent rules of work have led to media tension and a communication crisis. Trying to ban everything not only does not work – it does harm to our country. And those who look for simple solutions create complicated problems.

We demand:

• That the accreditation of the Ukrainian and foreign media workers who covered the events in Kherson and who, according to the General Staff's reports, were stripped of accreditation for this be immediately restored.
• That an internal investigation into the unprofessional work of the OC 'South' communications department and the general communications sector of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine be conducted and appropriate staffing decisions be made.
• That fair and transparent work and admission rules for journalists be developed and the selective approach be abandoned.
• That aggressive attacks on media workers cease and that the authorities start cooperating with them. Professionals who understand the specifics of journalists' work and are able to build high-quality communication should be involved in the work of the Ministry of Defense communication bodies.
• That redundant and ineffective bureaucracy be streamlined, namely by getting rid of the suporfluous documents and approvals demanded by the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces. Journalists already have accreditation from the Ministry of Defense, which constitutes an official permit to work. Additional documents and permits, which are being issued unprofessionally and selectively at that, are complicating the work of journalists and are detrimental to covering the most important events in Ukraine for the Ukrainian and global audience.
• That unjustified obstruction of journalists' work cease and that journalist be treated with respect and understanding of their needs and their mission. It is thanks to the work of Ukrainian and foreign journalists that the world is learning about the war and sympathizes with Ukraine.
• That every effort is made so that professional media can perform their work quickly and without hindrance.

2. Human rights activists say the Iryna Danilovych trial is politically motivated

15.11.2022 Human rights and media organizations claim that the trial against citizen journalist Iryna Danilovych, which ongoing in occupied Crimea, is politically motivated.

This is said in the organizations' statement regarding the persecution of citizen journalist Iryna Danilovych in occupied Crimea.

The organizations note that since the very first hearings it has been obvious that the "court" was deliberately preventing the true facts in the journalists' case from being established. For example, at the November 7 hearing, the court refused the defense the opportunity to question all 15 witnesses that the lawyers were supposed to question (namely the witnesses who were involved in the journalist's kidnapping).

"Also, during the October 24 and November 7 hearings, the representative of the prosecution was exploiting the evidence base, reading aloud only fragments of the documents from the criminal case (not the entire documents, but only the necessary parts), did not respond to the crime which was a witness refusing to testify in court, and supported the of testimonies from the case being read aloud even though there were no grounds for this.

"This approach demonstrates that the real motive for the persecution of Iryna Danilovych could have been the comments she had given to journalists regarding the objective state of the health care system in the occupied territory and her public activism in defending the rights of the region's healthcare workers, reporting on politically motivated processes, and not the explosives which the Russian security forces allegedly found in her purse," the statement reads.

Human rights activists call on the Ukrainian authorities to make every effort to release Iryna Danilovych, and on international governments to strongly and unilaterally protest the politically motivated prosecution of the journalist.

Here is the full statement:

A politically motivated trial against citizen journalist Iryna Danilovych has begun in occupied Crimea. She is one of 14 Ukrainian journalists who are imprisoned in occupied Crimea or have been transferred to prisons in the Russian Federation.

Iryna Danilovych, who worked with many independent media, namely the INzhyr project and the Crimean Process initiative, has been imprisoned in temporarily occupied Crimea since April 2022 for political reasons.

Before her imprisonment, Iryna used to live in Vladyslavivka village near Feodosia and worked as a nurse in Koktebel. She was a citizen journalist and was making publications anonymously, covering such subjects as the rights of healthcare workers, and also worked with various publications that covered political trials in occupied Crimea.

On April 29, 2022, four Russian law enforcemers in civilian clothes kidnapped Irina on her way from Koktebel to Feodosia, which was filmed on video. They also searched her house, seizing all equipment. Iryna was held incommunicado for 13 days. As it later turned out, Danilovych was kept in an FSB department for eight days, where she was tested with a lie detector, threatened, and only given food once a day.

It was only on the 13th day after her disappearance that Iryna's family was told that she was in the Simferopol pre-trial detention center. The citizen journalist was charged with "illegal storage of explosives"; she faces up to eight years in prison and a fine of up to 100,000 Russian rubles.

In July 2022, Danilovych reported being beaten by an FSB officer and put under psychological pressure by Russian security forces.

On August 29, the trial in the case of citizen journalist Iryna Danilovych began at the Feodosia city "court". On October 24, the court began examining the evidence and considering the merits of the case.

Since the very first hearings it has been obvious that the "court" was deliberately preventing the true facts in the journalists' case from being established. For example, at the November 7 hearing, the court refused the defense the opportunity to question all 15 witnesses that the lawyers were supposed to question (namely the witnesses who were involved in the journalist's kidnapping).

Also, during the October 24 and November 7 hearings, the representative of the prosecution was exploiting the evidence base, reading aloud only fragments of the documents from the criminal case (not the entire documents, but only the necessary parts), did not respond to the crime which was a witness refusing to testify in court, and supported the of testimonies from the case being read aloud even though there were no grounds for this.

This approach demonstrates that the real motive for the persecution of Iryna Danilovych could have been the comments she had given to journalists regarding the objective state of the health care system in the occupied territory and her public activism in defending the rights of the region's healthcare workers, reporting on politically motivated processes, and not the explosives which the Russian security forces allegedly found in her purse.

In view of such a telling beginning of the judicial investigation in the case against the Crimean citizen journalist, we urge:

a) human rights organizations of Ukraine and other democratic countries:

• to constantly monitor the court case against Iryna Danilovych;
• to share their own conclusions and assessments regarding this legal process as much as possible;

b) independent media, editors, and journalists:

• to show professional solidarity and organize an information campaign covering the specifics of the court process in Iryna Danilovych's case in detail;

c) professional unions of journalists:

• to take part in spreading information about the specifics of the trial in Iryna Danilovych's case among the international community;
• to hold their own events calling on union members to show professional solidarity and report on the specifics of the trial against Iryna Danilovych;

d) state authorities of Ukraine:

• to make every effort to release Iryna Danyiovych, as well as other Crimean political prisoners, including human rights activists and journalists;
• to conduct an investigation into the illegal imprisonment and persecution of Iryna Danilovych and to bring the perpetrators to justice;

e) governments of democratic countries of the world:

• to express their strong consolidated protest against the politically motivated prosecution of Iryna Danilovych and other journalists in occupied Crimea;
• to impose personal sanctions against persons involved in the persecution of Iryna Danilovych.

The address was supported by: ZMINA Human Rights Center, Crimean Process, the Institute of Mass Information, the Human Rights Platform, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, the Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners, the Crimean Human Rights Group, the Regional Center for Human Rights, and the DIYA Human Rights Center.