Police opens case on obstruction faced by Suspilne Zhytomyr journalists

Suspilne Zhytomyr journalist Kateryna Moroz, who faced obstruction while trying to film a hearing in the Korolyovskyi district court on December 18, filed a complaint with the police.

Suspilne Zhytomyr chief editor Dmytro Klymenko reported this to Oksana Trokoz, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Zhytomyr oblast.

The journalists also released a news story capturing the conflict. The journalist and the camerawoman say: “This is our editorial assignment, we are doing our job,” “You are obstructing the work of journalists.”

To this, the women respond: “I don’t see how that's wrong,” “Thank us for not beating you up.”

Defendants' relatives prevented Suspilne Zhytomyr journalists from entering a court hearing. Screenshot from Suspilne Zhytomyr on YouTube by the IMI

Maryna Vitvitska, spokeswoman for the Zhytomyr District Police Department, told the IMI that the department had received a complaint from a journalist regarding obstruction of reporting on December 18.

“The complainant said that at about 11:45 in the Korolyovskyi District Court, unknown persons (according to preliminary information, relatives of the defendants) did not allow the filming crew to freely enter the courtroom where a high-profile case was being tried at the time. In view of this, they were unable to complete their editorial assignment,” said Vitvitska.

The police have initiated proceedings under Part 1 of Article 171 (“Obstruction of the legal professional work of journalists”) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

“The necessary procedural actions are underway to identify witnesses to the incident and persons involved in it,” said Maryna Vitvitska.

She also clarified that intentional obstruction of a journalist's lawful professional work is punishable by a fine of up to 50 tax-free minimum incomes, a probationary supervision for up to three years, or restriction of liberty for the same term.

Tetyana Hosha, spokeswoman for the Zhytomyr oblast prosecutor's office, reported in a comment to the IMI representative that Suspilne Zhytomyr chief editor Dmytro Klymenko called the Zhytomyr oblast prosecutor's hotline and reported the incident on December 18.

"The TV channel's manager reported that on December 18, 2024, in the Korolyovskyi district court of Zhytomyr, a group of people prevented journalists filming a news story from entering the courtroom where a high-profile case was being tried and treated them aggressively. With these actions, the unidentified persons obstructed the legal professional work of journalists who were performing an editorial assignment," she said.

Tetyana Hosha added that proceedings for obstruction of legal reporting (Part 1, Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) have been registered. “A pre-trial investigation is underway, the details of the obstruction of the TV crew are being established,” she said.

On December 18, a hearing in the high-profile case of the so-called Korostyshiv racketeers took place in the Korolyovskyi District Court of Zhytomyr. Before the hearing began, relatives of the defendants blocked the Suspilne Zhytomyr filming crew from entering the courtroom. During the conflict, the journalist was pushed and grabbed by the arms, which prevented her from working.