Judges in Poltava region compelled police to renew case on obstruction to journalistic activity

On the 24th of January, the Mirgorodsky local court (in Poltava region) disaffirmed the decision of the investigators within the case of obstruction to the journalistic activity to Ludmyla Stelmakh (Kucherenko), journalist for the newspaper Poltavska dumka (Poltava opinion). The IMI correspondent in Poltava region reported it. The journalist told the investigators had been closing the proceedings within the case twice. On the 24th of April 2018, Viktor Kostenko, vice director of the municipal company “Shield of Mirgorodshyna”, threatened the journalist and made obstruction to the journalists to fulfill her profession. The police had rejected a complaint filed by the journalist, only due to decision of the court the proceeding had been initiated, but then the investigators had closed the case twice. And each time the judges had decided to continue investigation into the case.