The "Dumska" believes the search is obstruction and pressure by the government

Photo by the Dumska

The "Dumska" considers today's actions of law enforcers to be obstruction of the legal professional work of journalists, according to the newspaper's statement.

The media believes the search is related to their reports on corruption in the leadership of the regional military administration and the regional council.

"The SBU and the police visiting the "Dumska" editorial office today is another attempt at preventing any criticism on the part of the 'servants of the people'. The decision to search the premises where the our employees work was issued hastily on May 9 — immediately after several high-profile reports on corruption in the leadership of the regional military administration and the regional council. It seems to us that the connection is obvious," the statement reads.

The "Dumska" editors declared their "strong protest against such actions on the part of law enforcers" and consider the events to be obstruction of the legal professional work of journalists (Article 171 of the Criminal Code), and an encroachment on freedom of speech and democracy in Ukraine.

"Our country is currently fighting back against a full-scale invasion by Nazi Russia. The combat is ongoing not only on the battlefield, but also in the information space. Strong and independent mass media is one of Ukraine's strong points, which enables us to effectively counter the enemy's war propaganda and tell the whole world about the Russians' war crimes. The pressure on the free press does not contribute to our victory and plays into our enemy's hands," the statement reads.

As IMI reported, on May 10, the Odesa media outlet "Dumska" reported that their editorial office was searched by employees of the Security Service of Ukraine and the police. The employees of the media outlet were not allowed to work.

The police has assured the journalists that they were not seizing the editorial equipment and were not interfering with the work of the mass media, and that the searches were being conducted as part of criminal proceedings (initiated under Part 4 of Article 190, Part 3 of Article 28, Part 3 of Article 358, Part 3 of Article 28, Part 4 of Article 358, Part 2 of Article 364, Part 3 of Article 362, Part 3 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 366, Part 3 of Article 209, Part 2 of Article 15, Part 2 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).