Chernihiv businessman, deputy ex-candidate breaks the camera of "Dytynets" reporters
In Chernihiv, the filming crew of the local TV channel "Dytynets" got their camera broken on March 30 while filming at a downtown cafe, Suspilne reports.
According to reporter Natalia Medvedeva, this was done by Chernihiv businessman and former City Council deputy candidate from the Servant of the People party, Serhiy Berestovy.
According to her, journalists were trying to get a comment from Yuriy Tarasovets, a City Council member from Servant of the People, with regards to his absence at the session.
"We accidentally learned that Yuriy Tarasovets, is spending time at this establishment instead of being at the session. We came here to ask him why he was not at the session," Medvedeva said.
Serhiy Berestovy was in the cafe with Tarasovets.
"When we walked in with the camera, Yuriy started running away from us, and his companion or friend, I don't know, who was sitting next to him, started hitting our camera and broke it. He looked very much like Serhiy Berestovy," Medvedeva said.
With her phone, the journalist managed to record the man threatening to break their camera: "I'm asking, why are you filming me? You want me to break your camera? Throw away your camera! I'm a private individual, why are you filming me? Why are you filming me?"
Serhiy Berestovy refused to comment on the situation to Suspilne by phone, and offered to meet the next day.
Yuriy Tarasovets, who was also at the cafe at that time, got into his car and drove away without commenting on the matter.
The publication reminds that the regular Chernihiv City Council session was scheduled for March 30 and had not started by 4:00 p.m. Acting mayor Oleksandr Lomako said that before the session, four deputies had been summoned to the SBU for questioning, two deputies had been summoned to the conscription office, and Iryna Dolzhykova was taken off the train by law enforcers.
Following the attack on the filming crew, the Chernihiv police opened a criminal case for obstructing the professional work of journalists.
According to the police, the filming crew of the Chernihiv TV channel contacted the police around 1:00 p.m. The journalists said that while they were filming at a downtown cafe, one of the customers damaged their video camera. The police interviewed the participants and witnesses of the incident.
Based on this, the police opened a case under Part 1 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine ("Obstructing the legal professional work of journalists"). Its sanction includes a fine, arrest for up to six months, or restriction of freedom for up to three years.
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