Journalist Protection Task Force at the Prosecutor General's Office agrees on the definition of "journalist"

Photo provided by Lyudmyla Yankina

The Journalist Protection Task Force under the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has agreed on the definition of the term “journalist” as used in documenting crimes against media professionals committed by Russia.

This was discussed during the Task Force meeting on February 3.

At the meeting, PGO representatives and the media community discussed and agreed on the basic criteria for defining concepts such as “journalist” and “media community representative”, which were proposed by the Institute of Mass Information (IMI). The participants discussed applying the relevant Council of Europe Recommendations, UN and CoE standards, and the methodology used by the IMI to document Russia's crimes against journalists in Ukrainian practice, as well as the issue of recognizing those persons whose reporting acitivities are not limited to formal employment as journalists.

The Journalist Protection Task Force under the Prosecutor General’s Office meeting on February 3, 2025. Photo provided by Lyudmyla Yankina

The meeting was attended by:

• Oleksiy Boniuk, chief of Criminal Law Policy and Investment Protection;
• Oleh Pelepiuk, chief of Supervision of Compliance with Laws by the National Police of Ukraine and Bodies Combating Organized Crime;
• Yuriy Belousov, chief of Fighting Crime Committed in Armed Conflict;
• Oleksandr Maksymenko, chief of Investment Protection and Prosecutor Specialization Introduction;
• Oleksandr Zyuz, chief of Interaction with Intergovernmental, State and Non-Governmental Organizations, head of the Office for Organizational, Methodological and Analytical Support for the Department for Fighting Crime Committed in Armed Conflict;
• Iryna Toropchyna, chief of Interaction with Civil Society, head of Strategic Planning Office of the Department for Criminal Law Policy and Investment Protection;
• Vitaliy Tsybulskyi, chief specialist at the information and analytical support unit of the Office for Organizational, Methodological and Analytical Support for the Department for Fighting Crime Committed in Armed Conflict.

As well as representatives of human rights organizations and the media:

• Oksana Romaniuk, director of the NGO Institute of Mass Information;
• Kateryna Dyachuk, head of the Freedom of Speech Monitoring Department of the Institute of Mass Information;
• Svitlana Ostapa, deputy chief editor of the NGO Detector Media, Supervisory Board chair at the JSO National Public Television and Radio Company of Ukraine;
• Lyudmyla Yankina, human rights advocate, independent civil society protection expert;
• Olha Skrypnyk, board chair at the NGO Crimean Human Rights Group.

The Journalist Protection Task Force under the Prosecutor General’s Office meeting on February 3, 2025. Photo provided by Lyudmyla Yankina

On December 17, 2024, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the media community began to synchronize the lists of journalists killed by Russia. Namely, the list maintained by the Institute of Mass Information is to be synchronized with the PGO's official data. The effort aims to improve advocacy, investigations, and achieving justice for Russia's crimes against the media.

The professions of photojournalist and videographer were added to the “Journalist” professional standard at the IMI's initiative.