The Media Movement, along with the media and human rights organisations endorsing this statement, expresses concern over the signs of systemic pressure on investigative journalism by law enforcement bodies and calls for open communication on the part of the State Bureau of Investigation, and for the authorities and courts to strictly observe the press freedom guarantees.

Two events have occurred in Ukraine in the past few days which, in our opinion, point to a disturbing trend of exerting pressure on media outlets investigating the work of state and law enforcement institutions.

On 7 July, the State Bureau of Investigation searched the homes of Babel co-founder Oleksiy Babenko and his relatives, as well as at the office of Vyriy Industries, a company owned by Babenko. No official statement explaining the grounds for the law enforcers’ attention to Vyriy Industries and its owner has been issued, but the Babel team believes that it may be related to their high-profile investigation into the deaths and torture of servicemembers in the Skelia Assault Regiment. In particular, the journalists have pointed out that the searches had been preceded by a large-scale smear campaign targeting Babel and Oleksiy Babenko. Posts by anonymous Telegram channels and websites of dubious reputation alleged that Babenko had been willfully acting to undermine Ukraine’s defense capabilities. There was also a false report of the authorities raiding Babenko’s apartment and discovering a large amount of cash there shortly before the searches actually took place.

Prior to this, a Skelia Regiment serviceman, Mykola “Kyianyn” Kharkhan, posted a video calling Kateryna Lykhohlyad, the journalist who wrote the investigation, a “whorenalist,” accusing her of corruption, and threatening that she would have to “puke the money up later.” Moreover, some of the comments under the video could be viewed as threats of retaliation, physical and sexual assault. These statements likely aim to create an intimidating environment for the journalist, such as, “These are some pretty girls, the Moscow rapists will like them,” or “Journalists reporting unverified information and smearing the name of the best unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces … should be tied to an ATV themselves,” etc. Babel chief editor Kateryna Kobernyk said after the investigation was released, both she and Kateryna Lykhohlyad had to hire security, which affected their lives.

Meanwhile on 6 July, the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv (Judge Serhiy Vovk) banned the Anti-Corruption Action Center, Slidstvo.Info, and journalist Alina Stryzhak from releasing an investigation into the real estate ownership, monetary transactions, and investments of the Kharkiv-based businessman Oleksandr Sukhachov, the brother of State Bureau of Investigation director Oleksiy Sukhachov. The ban was imposed as a measure to secure the lawsuit even before the lawsuit was filed, based on a statement by the LLC Parkovyi-2, a company affiliated with Oleksandr Sukhachov, submitted in response to the journalist’s request for a comment. This is a preemptive ban on an investigation not yet released, passed within one business day, serving the interests of one party only, with the defendant absent and before the proceedings were opened. This incident has the characteristics of a SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation), and the mechanism itself is disproportionate and legally questionable in view of Article 34 of the Constitution and Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Taken together, these events — the sudden and undercommunicated action against the Babel co-owner and the court ban on the investigation into people with ties to the State Bureau of Investigation — suggest an effort to exert pressure on the media in order to curtail socially important investigations, namely those regarding violations of the law and human rights in the Defense Forces and possible corruption risks in the law enforcement system.

We call on the State Bureau of Investigation to openly disclose the reasons for searching Oleksiy Babenko’s apartment and his company’s office to the public.

We warn the authorities, law enforcement bodies, and individual representatives of the Defense Forces against any attempts to exert pressure on Babel, in particular through its owner. The Babel team has said that the law enforcer’s actions regarding their co-founder would not affect the progress of the ongoing investigation into Skelia.

We call on the Defense Forces command to express their position on the threats to media workers made by a Skelia Regiment servicemember, and to guarantee that journalists with Babel and other media outlets investigating alleged violations of the law and human rights in the army face no pressure or violence.

We call on law enforcement bodies to ensure an effective investigation into the threats of physical and sexual violence made against Babel journalists, and to carry out a proper legal assessment of these statements.

We emphasise that the preemptive court ban on the release of an investigation that has not yet been published is a direct restriction on freedom of speech and a dangerous precedent. We call on the Court of Appeal to overturn the Pechersk Court ruling and on the courts to refrain from normalising this practice. We remind you that Ukraine has undertaken to introduce anti-SLAPP legislation in accordance with EU standards by 2027, and that rulings that hinder the work of journalists even before publication go against the state’s European integration obligations.

Media Movement

Institute of Mass Information

NGO Detector Media

NGO Ukraïner

NGO DII Ukraine

NGO Women in Media

Mezha Anti-Corruption Centre

NGO Lviv Media Forum

Texty

Natalia Sokolenko

Zmina Human Rights Centre

Pylyp Orlyk Institute of Democracy

Anna Kaliuzhna, war correspondent

Liudmyla Tiahnyriadno, Ukrainske Radio

Liga.net

Alyona Romaniuk, fact-checker, Nota Yenota project

NGO Ukrainian Institute of Media and Communications

Anna Murlykina, 0629.com.ua chief editor, CJE member

How Not to Turn Brain-Dead

Prozoro Centre for Media Investigations

NGO Centre for Public Investigations

ZHAR.INFO, NGO Women’s Anti-Corruption Movement

Cherkasy-based news agency 18000

NGO KROP-MEDIARUKH

NGO Human Rights Platform