Unknown persons set the flat of Donetsk journalist on fire. Criminal case instituted.
22.11.2011, 02:02
On 31 July 2011, around 2 p.m., unknown persons set fire to the flat of Oleksiy Matsuka, a Donetsk journalist who is editor-in-chief of the "News of Donbass" website and the head of a regional public organization “Donetsk Institute of Information.” The journalist shared the information regarding the fire via his Facebook page.
Someone had barricaded the door of the journalist’s apartment in order no one could left it and set it on fire. Arsonists had left the memorial wreath with an inscription that read: “To Oleksiy from grieving friends”. Oleksiy Matsuka was not in the apartment when the incident took place.
"I have already filed a report with the regional prosecutor's office, the police and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). They have promised me to report by the end of the day which article the criminal case has been initiated under," Matsuka told IMI.
Oleksiy sees a clear connection between the arson and his journalistic activity, but also doesn’t exclude his public activity. “I wrote several articles about the life of authorities, their income, sources of financing. And officials may not like this.” – he said.
According to the police, the criminal case was initiated under Part 1, Art. 296 of the Criminal
Code of Ukraine, relating to“hooliganism”.
IMI’s lawyer Dmytro Chopovskyi believes, that considering the nature of the criminals’ actions, this case can also be qualified under Art. 12 and 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, as attempted murder, which foresees more severe penalty than "hooliganism", including imprisonment. According to Chopovskyi, the final definition of the case must be established during the investigation. If the connection between the incident and the professional activity of the victim is proven, then the case could also be considered under Art. 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, relating to "obstruction of a journalist's professional activity".
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Someone had barricaded the door of the journalist’s apartment in order no one could left it and set it on fire. Arsonists had left the memorial wreath with an inscription that read: “To Oleksiy from grieving friends”. Oleksiy Matsuka was not in the apartment when the incident took place.
"I have already filed a report with the regional prosecutor's office, the police and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). They have promised me to report by the end of the day which article the criminal case has been initiated under," Matsuka told IMI.
Oleksiy sees a clear connection between the arson and his journalistic activity, but also doesn’t exclude his public activity. “I wrote several articles about the life of authorities, their income, sources of financing. And officials may not like this.” – he said.
According to the police, the criminal case was initiated under Part 1, Art. 296 of the Criminal
Code of Ukraine, relating to“hooliganism”.
IMI’s lawyer Dmytro Chopovskyi believes, that considering the nature of the criminals’ actions, this case can also be qualified under Art. 12 and 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, as attempted murder, which foresees more severe penalty than "hooliganism", including imprisonment. According to Chopovskyi, the final definition of the case must be established during the investigation. If the connection between the incident and the professional activity of the victim is proven, then the case could also be considered under Art. 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, relating to "obstruction of a journalist's professional activity".
ІМІ
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