Zaporizhzhia police opens obstruction case over threats to 061.ua journalist after being contacted by IMI

On October 16, Zaporizhzhia police opened a case over obstruction of reporting faced by Elmira Shahabudtdynova, a journalist with the news media outlet 061.ua. Her statement was submitted to the UPTIR 18 days later, after the public backlash and an address by the Institute of Mass Information with a request for an assessment of the situation.

The case was opened under Part 1 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstruction of legal professional work of journalists), police captain Anna Tkachenko, chief of communications at the Zaporizhzhia Oblast National Police HQ, reported to Natalia Vyhovska, the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia oblast.

"Investigation in the open proceedings is currently underway, and we will report comprehensively on the results," said Tkachenko.

She added that the woman who attacked Elmira had also filed a statement.

"On September 29, at the site struck by the enemy's aerial bomb in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Zaporizhzhia, a conflict arose between a journalist of a Zaporizhzhia media outlet and the owner of a house affected by the explosion, who prohibited the reporter to film near her house and demanded that she delete the footage. Both filed statements with the police, which were entered into to the Unified Record of Statements and Reports on Crime and Other Events. The police have performed a full unbiased check into the incident," said Anna Tkachenko.

At the same time, the Zaporizhzhia Oblast National Police notes that they understand "the state of citizens affected by the occupiers' war crimes and the frustration that their damaged property being filmed may cause for them."

"People usually express fear that the strikes may happen again after the media publish the footage," the report says.

The woman involved in the case began to demand a video apology from the 061.ua journalist. As Elmira Shahabudtdynova tells the IMI representative, the woman called her editorial office on October 16 and demanded that the journalist publicly apologize to her on camera.

Previously

On September 29, the residents of a Zaporizhzhia private sector which was targeted by Russian anti-aircraft missiles interfered with the work of Elmira Shahabudtdynova as she was photographing the aftermath of the Russian strike. The people blocked her way, insulted her, threatened her, and demanded she delete the pictures she had already taken. They claimed that journalists only make things worse and that it is them who cause the shelling. The journalist called the police and filed a statement on obstruction to her reporting.

On October 12 she was contacted by a precinct police officer from the Zaporizhzhia Police Department No. 3, who suggested she reconcile with the people who attacked her. The journalist was told that she needed to "live in harmony with others," "put herself in people's shoes," "process the emotions," and that she was not physically harmed after all. She was offered to sign a document to confirm the conflict "was resolved".

On October 15, the precinct officer called the journalist and told her he needed to visit her at her home to sign the documents confirming the "conflict has been resolved". The police officer also told her that her statement had been registered as an address, because those are "one and the same". Elmira refused to meet him or sign the documents, replying that she would consult a lawyer. Despite the refusal, the police visited her by her address of registration on the same day and tried to find her there.