Khmelnytsky media outlet receives the requested information after appealing to the Commissioner

The Chorny Ostriv Village Council (Khmelnytsky oblast) provided ZHAR.INFO with information on the distribution of monetary aid to Hruzevytsya residents who were affected by Russian shelling on May 13, 2023, following the journalists' appeal to the Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner.

The media outlet's journalists shared this with the IMI.

"Back in the summer, we were collecting information for the project on helping residents of this affected village. We managed to release the material, but could not come to terms with the fact that we were not provided with this data. We contested the refusal to provide us with this information. At first, the Chorny Ostriv village council refused again. However, a few days later, an answer came with a detailed list of persons and the amount of monetary aid that was provided," ZHAR.INFO journalist Alyona Bereza said.

The editors contested the actions of the Khmelnytsky oblast administration in general, as in August, in response to their inquiry, they said that the requested information (namely the full names of the Hruzevytsia residents) was classified. However, in late October, after the complaint was sent, the administration's position somewhat changed. The Khmelnytsky OMA said in their response that they did not have the requested data on the Hruzevytsia residents who were affected by the Russian attack on 05/13/2023 and received aid, and the relevant sector of the administration only summarized the data received from other managers.

The journalists' complaint was processed at the oblast level. The official response of the Commissioner's representative stated that the oblast administration had re-examined the inquiry and stated the reason for refusing to provide information.

At the same time, the OMA noted in their response that it had redirected the editors' inquiry to the proper managers of information  – namely, the Chorny Ostriv territorial community, which possessed this data.

Initially, the Chorny Ostriv territorial community, too, refused to provide the information. However, in a few days, the editors received a reply with a list of the Hruzevytsia residents and the monetary aid provided to them.

According to the editors, the fact that the documents were redirected in this situation played an important role, and the administrator who had the information decided to provide it to the journalists nevertheless.