Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Poland to refrain from detaining journalists on the border

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says that Polish authorities should refrain from detaining members of the press reporting on topics of public interest, according to the organization's statement regarding two Ukrainian filming crews (Ukrainian Pravda and Rayon.in.ua) being detained on Poland's border.

“CPJ is concerned by Poland’s detention, in the span of two weeks, of four Ukrainian journalists who were investigating the country’s trade with Russia. Journalists should be able to report on matters of public interest without fear of detention or deportation,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s program coordinator for Europe and Central Asia.

The organization recounted the recent incidents when the filming crews of Ukrainian Pravda and Rayon.in.ua were detained on the Polish border.

The detentions in question

On March 7, the Polish police detained journalists with the Ukrainian outlet Rayon.in.ua, Yuriy Konkevych and Oleksandr Piliuk, confiscating all of their equipment and deporting them from the country. The journalists were filming a story about the trade between Poland, Russia and Belarus.

On February 27, the Polish police detained Mykhailo Tkach and his cameraman near the Poland–Belarus border as the journalist was filming a report on the transit of goods between Poland and Russia, Belarus. Some of the footage was deleted by the Polish law enforcers. Later, Tkach released the investigation "Granica na miazhy. How Poland is stepping up trade with Russia through Belarus".

After the incident, the journalists' belongings were given back to them, but the police deleted some of the footage they had filmed.

On February 29, "Ukrainian Pravda" announced that they had contacted a Polish lawyer following the detention of investigator Mykhailo Tkach by the Polish police near the border. On March 1, 2024, "Ukrainian Pravda" released the investigation by journalist Mykhailo Tkach.