There are no more civilian journalists in Ukraine, they have all become war reporters – IMI expert at the OSCE
There are no more civilian journalists in Ukraine – each and every one of them has become a war reporter. Iryna Zemlyana, a media expert at the Institute of Mass Information, said this at the OSCE media freedom conference in Vienna on March 13.
At a side panel "Media Freedom in Ukraine: Revealing the Truth in Wartime," Iryna Zemlyana presented the IMI's yearly monitoring on Russia's crimes against journalists and the media and talked about the work conditions which journalists are facing in wartime.
"Currently, the work of Ukrainian journalists is most difficult, most crucial for the entire world, and most dangerous. We no longer have civilian journalists – each and every one of them has become a war reporter. They are working under shelling, with no electricity, heating or water. Over 200 local media outlets had to close, TV towers have been fired upon, and websites are being blocked. But Ukrainian journalists continue to work for their audience and inform the whole world about the war in Ukraine," the IMI expert said.
The speakers at the event called on the OSCE and its participant countries to support Ukraine, to facilitate the prosecution of those guilty of Russia's crimes against journalists at the International Criminal Court and at all possible levels.
The speakers also urged them to provide assistance to Ukrainian law enforcers and prosecutors, to work on the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine and the advocacy of it.
The side panel was organized by the public organization ZMINA together with IMI. Ukrainian human rights advocates and journalists spoke at the event as well. Namely, journalist and wife of Maks Levin, a photojournalist murdered by the Russians, Inna Varyanitsa, spoke about the investigation into Levin's case.
Help us be even more cool!
