IMI recorded 30 lockdown-related violations of freedom of speech

30 violations of freedom of speech related to the COVID-19 lockdown have been recorded by the Institute of Mass Information since March 12, 2020 (since the beginning of quarantine in Ukraine).

Thus, in late May and early June (as of June 12), IMI recorded five cases of violations of the kind - in Kryvyi Rih, Poltava, Khmelnytsky, Odessa and Kyiv region. 

In particular, these are the following violations:

• On May 27, a number of journalists were not allowed to attend the session of the Kryvyi Rih City Council, under the pretext of coronavirus. Persons who banned the way for the press, the journalists recognized employees of the municipal enterprise "Municipal Guard".
• On June 1, in the village of Hatne (Kyiv region), the guards of the village council physicaly prevented a freelance journalist Taisia ​​Kutuzova from accessing the village council's premises, justifying it by lockdown.
• On June 2, the TV crew of the IRT-Poltava TV channel was not allowedto attend a meeting of the conciliatory council of the chairmen of the deputy factions of the Poltava City Council. At the same time, journalist Oleksandra Ioffe with Poltavsky Visnyk was admitted to the meeting of the conciliation council by the City Council security. 
• On June 3, journalists from the Khmelnytsky online editions vsim.ua and Ye were denied in accreditation for coverage of working visit of President Volodymyr Zelensky to the region, under the pretext of quarantine.
• On June 5, the TV crew of the Odessa 7 TV channel was not allowedto attend the session of the Avangardivka village council (Odessa region). Journalist Ksenia Sitinska said that denial of access was justified by quarantine restrictions.

In general, the largest number of violations was recorded in Kyiv and the region (six), in Dnipropetrovsk region - five, Kherson region - four, three - in Lviv region, two cases - in Chernivtsi region, Poltava region, Khmelnytsky region and Odesa region, and one case each in Donbas , in Cherkasy, Mykolayiv and Zaporizhzhya.

It will be recalled that as of May 18, IMI recorded 25 violations of freedom of speech related to the COVID-19 quarantine.

If your professional journalistic rights have been violated, please, contact us through our emergency phone line (050) 447 70 63 and write to [email protected].