In Odesa, activists chased away journalist from court session, accusing him of separatism

On February 13 in Odesa, former leader of Odesa branch of “Right Sector” organization, Serhiy Sternenko, together with his supporters, using force and threats, made the photographer of information agency “Odesa media” Maksym Voitenko, to leave the assembly hall of Kyivskyi distric t court in Odesa city. Maksym Voitenko reported this to IMI. During the break in the trial session, the activists approached Voitenko and demanded him to leave the session, accusing the photographer of separatism and cooperation with Russian mass media. They yelled at the journalist and tried to drag him out, but he resisted. Police officers chased away the activists, but still asked the journalist to leave to avoid the conflict. Because there were about 15 activists, he had to comply and leave the court in the end. Maksym Voitenko also reported that he intends to file an official complaint to the police about this incident. The session on February 13 in the court mentioned above was about the prosecutor's office request to extend the detainment term for Serhiy Sternenko, who is suspected of being complicit in selling drugs, “Pushkinska.net” reports.