Verkhovna Rada passes a bill on mandatory insurance for journalists working in the combat zone
The Verkhovna Rada adopted the draft bill №7367 on providing additional protection guarantees to journalists working in the areas of military (combat) operations. People's Deputy Tetyana Tsyba informed Detector Media about this.
"Winning the information war is a guarantee of winning in general. The enemy understands this. That is why 413 crimes against the media and journalists have been recorded since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. 33 media workers have been killed, including eight killed in the course of their work. 14 – wounded, 15 – missing. We understand that, too. And we must provide maximum protection to media workers who tell the truth to the world, risking their own lives," she said.
The document stipulates new requirements for media outlets regarding the work of journalists on the front line. Namely, mass media are obligated to provide their employees with means of protection against injuries from firearms, shrapnel injuries, as well as medical first-aid kits.
In addition, the bill provides for mandatory insurance for journalists at the employer's expense in case of injuries suffered while covering the war and the events in the occupied territories.
The document also mentions the stipulated amount of one-time financial assistance to media workers in case of injury. Such assistance will amount to 50 subsistence minimums instead of "up to 50," as was the case in the previous legislation.
As IMI reported, on May 31, the Verkhovna Rada adopted as a basis draft bill №7367 on mandatory provision by media managers of journalists deployed to combat zones with bulletproof vests, helmets and first-aid kits, as well as providing for insurance for them at the employer's expense.
An International Journalist Insurance Fund has been founded in Ukraine. Representatives of independent media who go to the combat zone, the occupied territories, and the liberated territories (within one month after the liberation) may get insurance. The foundation was initiated by six public organizations: Souspilnist Foundation, the Association of Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine (AIRPU), Institute of Mass Information, Detector Media, the Center for Democracy and the Rule of Law, and the Institute for Regional Press Development.
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