In Chyhyryn city, protesters attacked the journalists of local newspaper

In Chyhyryn city (Cherkska oblast), the journalists of local newspaper “Chyhyrynski visti” were attacked by protesters against building poultry farming facility. This was reported by “Procherk” , with reference to the letter of the head of Cherkaska oblast organization of National Association of Journalists of Ukraine, Tetiana Kalynovska. The incident took place on January 12 at the crossing of Bohdana Hmelnytskoho and Hetmanska streets. The protest action participants were obstructing the work of staff correspondent and lawyer of “Chyhyrynski visti”, who is also member of Chyhyryn city council, Svitlana Hrechaniuk-Samoilova. According to her reports, she was assaulted by several women who were grabbing, pushing, and shaming her. The police officers who were present, according to Svitlana, were not helping her immediately, instead, after the pushing stopped, an officer approached her and led her aside. The protesters also harmed editor-in-chief of "Chyhyrynski visit", Natalia Lebedenko, her daughter Tetiana, the correspondent of newspaper, and her minor grandchildren. The protesters noticed them in a passing public transport, a mini-bus, that could not make it through the crowded street, and started threatening them with violence, trying to get the journalists out of the bus. The police did not intervene, in spite of several officers being there. The journalists and their family members were protected by other bus passengers. Journalists of LLC “Editorial office of newspaper “Chyhyrynski visti” Natalia Lebedenko, Tetiana Lebedenko and Svitlana Hrechaniuk-Samoilova filed official complaints to the local police. The journalists consider the events as not only obstruction to journalist activities, but also an attack against their professional honor and dignity.