IMI invites journalists to the press conference "Will Russia be punished for its crimes against freedom of speech in Ukraine?"

A press conference titled "Will Russia be punished for its crimes against freedom of speech in Ukraine?", organised by the Institute of Mass Information (IMI), will take place in Kyiv on Monday, November 4.

The event will take place offline at the Media Center Ukraine, Kyiv, Hrinchenka St 9 (Urban Space 500).

The press conference is scheduled to start at 13:00 (Kyiv time) and last for 1 hour. Livestream in Ukrainian and English is planned on IMI's Facebook page.

Please apply here to attend.

Illustration by the IMI

The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, which was established by the United Nations in 2013, is celebrated annually on November 2. Since 2022, the most egregious crimes against the media and journalists in Ukraine are being committed by Russia. According to the IMI, 91 media professionals have been killed by the Russians in this time, with 12 dying while reporting. 29 civilian journalists were detained by Russia in violation of international law and are facing torture, threats to their life and health.

Officials and civil society representatives will discuss Russia's crimes against the media and journalists in Ukraine, the fate of the detained journalists, and analyze what steps Ukraine and the international community are taking to free the hostages and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Speakers:

• Oksana Romaniuk, Institute of Mass Information director, moderator;
• Kateryna Dyachuk, head of the freedom of speech monitoring department at the Institute of Mass Information;
• Natalka Bohuta, journalist, friend and colleague of the journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, who was kidnapped by Russia;
• Yevhenia Kravchuk, deputy chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy;
• Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech;
• law enforcement representatives.

Discussion topics:

• The persecution of journalists in 2024: new trends and the recorded cases. Presentation of the IMI report.
• Analyzing Russia's war crimes targeting the media and journalists. The fate of the media professionals who were detained by Russia.
• The Ukrainian authorities' actions to protect media professionals and free the prisoners.
• Cooperation with international organizations and their response: what is missing for achieving results.

Contact person: Hanna Chabarai, [email protected] 

The Institute of Mass Information (IMI) is a Ukrainian non-governmental media organization that has been operating since 1996. The IMI defends the rights of journalists, analyzes the media field and covers media-related events, fights propaganda and disinformation and has been providing media outlets with safety gear for trips to the combat zone since the start of the Russo–Ukrainian war in 2014.

The IMI carries out Ukraine's only freedom of speech monitoring and keeps a list of high quality and sustainable online media outlets, documents Russia's crimes against the media committed in the course of the war on Ukraine. The IMI has representatives in 20 oblasts of Ukraine and a network of "Mediabaza" hubs to provide journalists with continuous support. The IMI's partners include Reporters Without Borders and Freedom House; the organization is a member of the International Organization for the Protection of Freedom of Expression (IFEX).