On Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Channel 5 operator was beaten and STB journalist received threats

On July 2, in Kyiv on Maidan Nezalezhnosti unidentified men attacked the filming crew of Channel 5, the camera operator was beaten.  The filming crew, Hanna Rybalko, the journalist, and Danylo Shmatko, the operator, were there on an editorial assignment – filming a story about the condition of the barricades of Horodetskoho Street. Unidentified men in camouflage tried to stop them from filming, as they did not want the authorities to see their faces and did not trust mass media. These men also demanded that the operator deleted the footage, and when he refused they punched him in the stomach and ran away.

During the incident the camouflaged men also threatened the STB filming crew, in particular, the STB journalist Borys Sachalko.

 Both filming crews filed complaints with the police, the investigation is ongoing.

The person that punched the operator turned out to be a Maidan rally participant Andriy a.k.a. Slon, who has been detained by police on numerous occasions and is currently under house arrest.