In Mykolaiv, judge banned journalist's photo and video recording

On January 27, the chairing judge of Leninskyi district court of Mykolaiv city, Yuriy Krutiy, banned the journalist of online media outlet “NikVesti” Kateryna Sereda from photo- and video recording of the court session. The court session subject matter considered was assaults and robbery of four Bashtanka city residents, “NikVesti” reports.
The judge noticed that the journalist was taking photos of one of the accused, and demanded to take away the camera. Krutiy declared that any recording would be conducted only with permission of the judge, and for this the journalists need to register a written request in the court office, a request including all data about the journalists. The judge said that he would not accept oral request for conducting video recording.
The media outlet comments that the judge ignored the Law of Ukraine  “On securing the right for fair trial”, which, in particular, permits mass media representatives to use portable equipment for recording the court sessions without permission of the court.
Judge Krutiy, however, referred to the Criminal Code of Process of Ukraine, which the members of Parliament have not amended yet. In addition, the media outlet comments that the judges of this court, including Krutiy, were never against recording in other cases - on the contrary, they were explaining the relevant legislation changes themselves in cases when someone was against recording.