Police has opened 13 cases on crimes against journalists in 2025

National Police chief Ivan Vyhivskyi. Photo by the National Police

The police have registered 13 proceedings for crimes against mass media representatives in 2025, National Police chief Ivan Vyhivskyi reported in an interview with Detector Media.

Seven of these cases were filed are under Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (“Obstruction of legal reporting”), five more under Article 345-1 (“Threats or violence against a journalist”) and one under Article 347 (“Willful destruction or damage to a journalist’s property”).

“Today, the progress of all cases on crimes against journalists are being monitored by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klymenko, and me, as the chief of the National Police. The reporting is prompt; if something happens to a media representative, the local department reports it immediately,” he said.

He added that if such cases are not solved or are improperly investigated they are reviewed by the management at all levels, and this gives results.

Vyhivskyi said that 85 proceedings were opened in 2024, 69 of which were related to obstruction of legal reporting.

“However, we take into account the remaining proceedings from previous years, so investigations into 98 offences were completed in 2024, with 11 cases submitted to court. In particular, under Art. 171 (obstruction of legal reporting) and Art. 345-1 (threats or violence against a journalist),” said Vyhivskyi.

He added that a pre-trial investigation has been completed in the proceedings on obstruction faced by Ukrainian Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach as he was filming a news story near the restaurant “Tandyr” in Kozyn (Kyiv oblast), which occurred on November 17, 2023. Two men were identified and notified of suspicion. The indictment was submitted to court on January 4, 2024.

The National Police chief added that investigations in 28 proceedings have been completed this year, two of which were submitted to court under Articles 171 and 345-1.

“One of them, for example, concerns violent threats to a journalist with an online media outlet who was reporting in Kalahliya (Odesa oblast) on October 25, 2024. A man was identified and notified of suspicion,” said Vyhivskyi.

The police registered 85 proceedings for crimes committed against media representatives in 2024. However, only six of these cases were investigated and submitted to court with indictments (compared to 7 proceedings having been passed to court in 2023 and four in 2022).