In the first half of 2014, in Ukraine 249 attacks on journalists have been committed — IMI

In the first half of 2014, in Ukraine there have been 249 cases of beatings and attacks on representatives of mass media, 6 journalists have perished, 55 have been abducted or illegally detained in Crimea and in the East of Ukraine. This is data from the monthly research of the Freedom of press barometer conducted by the Institute of Mass information.

IMI has also registered 101 incidents of obstruction to lawful professional activities of journalists and 113 cases of censorship.

For comparison, during the entire year of 2013 there was registered 97 beatings (2.5 times fewer than in the first half of 2014), 129 obstructions and 62 incidents of censorship.

During these 6 months, the IMI experts have recorded 50 cases of threats and intimidation of journalists, as well as abduction or illegal detainment of 55 journalists (in Crimea and in the East of Ukraine).

At least, 24 journalists because of pressure and threats were forced to leave their homes and move with their families to safer places. Although, according to IMI data, there have been more such cases but they did not become public and so they were not included.

For the first time in the recent years, death of journalists when performing their professional duties has been registered. In particular, since the beginning of the year six mass media workers perished, among which the journalist of the newspaper «Vesti» Viacheslav Veremiy, the Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli and his translator, a Russian citizen Andriy Mironov, the correspondent Ihor Korneliuk and video engineer Anton Voloshyn from the All-Russian State TV and Radio Company (Russia), as well as Anatoliy Klian, a camera operator of the «First Channel» (Russia).

The IMI experts point out that most violations have been registered in Crimea and in the East of Ukraine due to separatist moods and actions of the terrorists.

«Physical aggression directed at journalists and workers of mass media is currently one of the key challenges the media community is facing. At the same time, the new authorities face a great challenge, too — to investigate all these cases and to punish the aggressors. Putting an end to impunity for attacks on journalists and protection of the society's right for information has to become one of the top priority issues on the new President's agenda», — insists the executive director of IMI Oksana Romaniuk.

For more information about all the facts recorded in the Freedom of Press Barometer, please visit the IMI website.