Open letter to Ukraine’s minister of interior
Organisation:
Mr Anatoliy Mohylyov
Minister of Interior
Kiev
Ukraine
Paris, 23 April 2010 Dear Minister, Reporters Without Borders would like to draw your attention to the erosion of the right to information in your country in recent months as a result of arrests and intimidation of journalists working for both traditional and online media. This aim of this behaviour by police officers abusing their authority appears to have been to scare journalists and pressure them into censoring themselves. Reporters Without Borders is particularly concerned by the fact that the police are beginning to target online journalists. A blogger and journalist has for the first time been the target of repeated intimidation attempts. Olena Bilozerska covered a protest by a group called Autonomous Resistance on 18 February in which demonstrators threw eggs, paint and smoke grenades in a Kiev shop that sells furs. The police searched her apartment illegally on 27 March, seizing material. They hadn't informed the judge that they wanted to search a journalist. She was then interrogated on 30 March and 13 April in an unacceptable manner. In the second interrogation, she was brought face-to-face with a person claiming to have been one of the demonstrators, who implied she had been involved in organizing the protest. Her basic rights were violated as she was not able to talk to her lawyer and she was denied medical treatment when she suddenly needed during the interrogation. She was also accused by police spokesman Volodymyr Polishchuk of failing to inform the police about the demonstration so that they could arrests its participants. We fear that the treatment given to Ms. Bilozerska could become standard practice. Reporters Without Borders therefore urges you, as the minister responsible for the police, to intervene to put a stop to such behaviour. Journalists and bloggers are meant to provide information to the public, not to act as police auxiliaries. The police officers behaved illegally in this case, violating article 17 of the Ukrainian law on the protection of journalists. This law says that the activities of journalists cannot be the motive for their arrest or for the seizure of their material. The frequency of acts of intimidation and aggression by police against journalists has increased since the recent presidential election. Among the journalists who have been arrested are Andriy Vey, the publisher of the newspaper Express, Ihor Myrishnychenko of Poverkhnost and Andriy Mokhnyk of Svoboda. Borys Brahinskiy of TV 9 Kanal was physically attacked and the Avtor-V television station was forced to stop broadcasting. At the time of your appointment, you promised to respect the rights of journalists and on 25 March, you issued orders to the police to improve cooperation with journalists. Reporters Without Borders urges to you respect your promises and to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that journalists are able to work freely. I thank you in advance for the attention you give to this request and I look forward to a favourable response. Sincerely, Secretary-General
Jean-François Julliard
Minister of Interior
Kiev
Ukraine
Paris, 23 April 2010 Dear Minister, Reporters Without Borders would like to draw your attention to the erosion of the right to information in your country in recent months as a result of arrests and intimidation of journalists working for both traditional and online media. This aim of this behaviour by police officers abusing their authority appears to have been to scare journalists and pressure them into censoring themselves. Reporters Without Borders is particularly concerned by the fact that the police are beginning to target online journalists. A blogger and journalist has for the first time been the target of repeated intimidation attempts. Olena Bilozerska covered a protest by a group called Autonomous Resistance on 18 February in which demonstrators threw eggs, paint and smoke grenades in a Kiev shop that sells furs. The police searched her apartment illegally on 27 March, seizing material. They hadn't informed the judge that they wanted to search a journalist. She was then interrogated on 30 March and 13 April in an unacceptable manner. In the second interrogation, she was brought face-to-face with a person claiming to have been one of the demonstrators, who implied she had been involved in organizing the protest. Her basic rights were violated as she was not able to talk to her lawyer and she was denied medical treatment when she suddenly needed during the interrogation. She was also accused by police spokesman Volodymyr Polishchuk of failing to inform the police about the demonstration so that they could arrests its participants. We fear that the treatment given to Ms. Bilozerska could become standard practice. Reporters Without Borders therefore urges you, as the minister responsible for the police, to intervene to put a stop to such behaviour. Journalists and bloggers are meant to provide information to the public, not to act as police auxiliaries. The police officers behaved illegally in this case, violating article 17 of the Ukrainian law on the protection of journalists. This law says that the activities of journalists cannot be the motive for their arrest or for the seizure of their material. The frequency of acts of intimidation and aggression by police against journalists has increased since the recent presidential election. Among the journalists who have been arrested are Andriy Vey, the publisher of the newspaper Express, Ihor Myrishnychenko of Poverkhnost and Andriy Mokhnyk of Svoboda. Borys Brahinskiy of TV 9 Kanal was physically attacked and the Avtor-V television station was forced to stop broadcasting. At the time of your appointment, you promised to respect the rights of journalists and on 25 March, you issued orders to the police to improve cooperation with journalists. Reporters Without Borders urges to you respect your promises and to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that journalists are able to work freely. I thank you in advance for the attention you give to this request and I look forward to a favourable response. Sincerely, Secretary-General
Jean-François Julliard
Published on
Updated on
20.01.2016
Ukraine
