Rivne oblast police registers five cases over crimes against journalists in 2024

The Rivne police registered five proceedings in which journalists were victims in 2024. By the end of the year, two of the cases were closed, as reported by the Rivne Oblast and District Prosecutor's Offices in their responses to inquiries by the Institute of Mass Information.

In 2024, the police launched an investigation into the mudslinging campaign against the investigative journalism agency Chetverta Vlada. As the IMI reported, the proceedings were opened into obstruction of reporting (Part 2, Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The investigation is underway.

The police also began investigation into obstruction of reporting targeting Chetverta Vlada journalist Dmytro Domashchuk, who in November 2024 was barred from attending a meeting on funding the local territorial community volunteer unit (TCVU).

As Chetverta Vlada reported, the journalist wanted to attend the event on the advice of a volunteer formation member who complained about the lack of funding for the volunteers and the city authorities’ obstruction of the work of the TCVU. In a comment to the IMI, Dmytro Domashchuk said that he had warned the TCVU commander about his intention to attend in advance, but was refused on the spot. The meeting was also postponed due to the journalist’s appearance.

Another investigation concerns threats on social media. The Rivne District Prosecutor's Office, in response to a query by the IMI, reported that a case over violent threats was opened in June 2024 at the request of Pro Rivne chief editor Olha Ferar. In a comment to the IMI, Olha Ferar said that she had repeatedly received threatening texts in a messenger app from the wife of a man mentioned in her article, who had been detained by the police. The investigation into this case is currently ongoing.

In March 2024, the website of the investigative journalism agency Chetverta Vlada came under an intenst DDoS attack immediately after the release of a news story about the Rivne City Council deputy Svyatoslav Stelmashchuk. This is not the first time that the media outlet has faced attacks on their website following the release of investigations about this deputy and his close associates.

In May 2024, the police investigated this case, qualifying the attackers' actions as obstruction of reporting. However, in late July, the proceedings in the case were closed, as the police believe that there is “no corpus delicti” in the case.

Another investigation into obstruction of reporting concerns an incident with a Halytski Visti representative who was allegedly not allowed into the administrative premises of a law enforcement agency in January 2024. As the IMI reported, Halytski Visti is a resource founded by pseudo-activist and anti-vacxxer Ostap Stakhiv, also known for anti-Ukrainian activities and ties to Russia. Last year, the National Council abstained and did not register Halytski Visti as a media outlet. According to the Rivne District Prosecutor's Office, the police closed the case in March 2024.