The police have closed the probe into obstruction of legal reporting faced by Suspilne Zhytomyr journalists, which was initiated following the incident in the Korolyovskyi District Court of Zhytomyr in December 2024, as per the police’s response to a query by Oksana Trokoz, the Institute of Mass Information’s regional representative.
The IMI representative was interested in the progress of the investigation a year after the offense was committed. On 18 December 2024, Suspilne’s reporter and a camerawoman faced obstruction while attempting to attend a hearing in the Korolyovskyi District Court of Zhytomyr. According to Suspilne Zhytomyr chief editor Dmytro Klymenko, relatives of the defendants aggressively blocked the courtroom door, abused them physically and verbally, while the court security did not intervene. The conflict was recorded on video.
Following the incident, the police initiated proceedings under Part 1 of Article 171 (“Obstruction of legal reporting”) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. However, as noted in the response to IMI’s query, on 16 May 2025, the inquiry unit of the Zhytomyr Police Department No. 1 decided to close the proceedings in view of the pre-trial investigation findings and on the grounds of Part 2 of Article 1 of Article 284 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (no corpus delicti found).
The police’s reply also stated that the investigation had identified a person who had entered into an argument with the reporter in the court building, but no suspicion notices had been issed and no one was prosecuted. Moreover, the polce said that ensuring journalists’ unhindered access to open court hearings was not within the competence of the pre-trial investigation body.
Suspilne Zhytomyr chief editor Dmytro Klymenko said that he learned about the case’s closure from IMI and not from the police. The news outlet plans to appeal the decision to close the probe.
“We will appeal the closure of the case. And it is strange, because the victim should have been notified of the proceedings being closed. And this was not the case. That is why the appeal. We want none such situations. We want to do our work safely and know that the rights of journalists are protected,” Dmytro Klymenko added.