65 attacks against journalists in Ukraine this year
Sixty-five cases of physical aggression against journalists have been recorded in Ukraine over the first 11 months of 2019, Head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) Sergiy Tomilenko has said.
"Five incidents involving the use of force against media representatives were recorded in November. Most often, force was used against media representatives in Kyiv city and the Kyiv region (three cases), as well as in the Ternopil region and in Mykolaiv.
In total, 65 incidents of physical aggression against Ukrainian journalists were recorded during the first 11 months of 2019. These are the figures of a monitoring study 'The Index of Physical Safety of Ukrainian Journalists,' which the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine conducts jointly with partner NGOs," he wrote on his Facebook page.
According to Tomilenko, one of the most brazen attacks was an attack on a journalist of the Center for Investigative Journalism, Artem Kvashyn, which occurred on November 13 in the village of Dudarkiv, the Kyiv region. The journalist, together with his colleagues, came to Dudarkiv to ask the head of the village some questions about corruption in which the official is likely to be involved. However, when he saw the journalists and village residents who came to the meeting, the village head got into his car and ran so fast that he hit several villagers. Kvashyn found himself on the hood of the car, having traveled a considerable distance.
Tomilenko noted that the National Police responds promptly to reports of obstruction of journalism and immediately open criminal proceedings. However, the situation with the safety of journalists in Ukraine remains troubling.
Source: Ukrinform
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