In Ternopil, journalist had cell phone pried off from her hand as she was streaming city council session

On November 30 in Ternopil, the journalist of weekly edition “Nomer odyn”, Tetiana Kolesnik, was obstructed when she tried to video record the session of city council, by the member of National Association “Svoboda” Borys Semanyshyn. IMI Tetiana Kolesnik reported this to IMI. According to her, Semanyshyn pried off the phone that she used for streaming, from her hands. “He pried it right off from my hands. Nearby, there were my acquaintances who started to yell at him, and I managed to take it back. But he still managed to interrupt the stream, and verbally attacked my”, the journalist said. “The journalist who cover the sessions of Ternopil city council are forced to work under hard conditions for several months already. Because the representatives of NA “Svoboda” set up so-called “corridor” of their supporters at the stairs, who decide who is allowed to go in.  My colleagues were forced to get used to aggression, verbal attacks, and crowded environment, where they have to work. Yet the latest events crossed all possible lines. So I had to report the crime. I know some of my colleagues intend to do the same, as some of them were not allowed to enter the assembly hall, some had their cameras scratched. I hope the police will be able to deal with the situation”, she commented for IMI. the journalist filed an official complaint about obstructions to her work to the police. The local police administration opened a criminal proceeding based on this incident.