IMTU claims Chernihiv enforcement service pressures journalist Ihor Chaika

The committee of the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTU) claims that a journalist, director and member of IMTU Ihor Chaika is under pressure from Desniansky branch of the enforcement service of Chernihiv city department of justice, which arrested the journalist's property and account unlawfully and groundlessly.

IMTU demands that the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and its enforcement service thoroughly inspect legality of the actions of Desniansky branch of the enforcement service of Chernihiv city department of justice against journalist Ihor Chaika: it placed arrest on Chaika's property for the third time in one year without any grounds. Last October, Desniansky branch deducted more than UAH 22,000 from Chaika's account. After Chaika  threatened to make this incident public the money was returned and he was told it was a mistake. The court decision was that the deduction and the arrest were groundless. But on January 14, 2015, it arrested Chaika's property again.

IMTU believes the actions of the officials may be directed at silencing the journalist as these arrests started after his documentary about preparations for annexation of Crimea was aired on UT-1.