THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
“Five years have passed since the murder of Cherkasy journalist Vadym Komarov, but there are still no results of the investigation,” emphasized Sergiy Tomilenko, the President of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), speaking at a meeting of the Committee on Freedom of Speech of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on April 10.
He stressed that the NUJU welcomes the initiative, which was announced at the meeting, to conduct quarterly public reports by law enforcement officers on the investigation of crimes committed against journalists.
“We expect that this will be effective parliamentary control, which will give us the opportunity to convey information about our problems. The main thing we would like to hear is about the precedents of punishing those guilty of attacks and violating the rights of journalists,” Sergiy Tomilenko said.
He emphasized the importance of such precedents. This is evidenced by the case with BIHUS.Info. The journalistic community unanimously expressed its solidarity with the publication.
“After the large-scale outcry caused by the scandalous case of law enforcement surveillance of media persons, we expected that a wide public outcry would stop the abuse. But soon, a new case took place involving SLIDSTVO.Info,” Sergiy Tomilenko recalled. “Therefore, we understand that even today’s meeting, in which law enforcement officers participate, cannot guarantee that a third case does not take place. So, quarterly reports will be really helpful.”
Also, Sergiy Tomilenko appealed to the parliamentary committee and the law enforcement officers with a request to draw up (with the involvement of public organizations) a list of high-profile proceedings on crimes against media persons, on which there has been no progress for years – such as the cases of Vadym Komarov and Pavlo Sheremet.
“In particular, we are talking about the need to understand how the investigation into the murder of Cherkasy journalist Vadym Komarov is taking place. Soon, it will be five years since the day of his death. In 2021, an investigation hearing was held at the Prosecutor General’s Office. Police and investigators reported on the questioning of 1,700 witnesses. But there is no suspect. And there is no signal of peace for Cherkasy journalists that this will not happen again,” Sergiy Tomilenko said.
The President of the NUJU noted that, while talking about the rights of journalists in the territory controlled by Ukraine, we at the same time understand that the main threat to freedom of speech today is russia, which kills journalists and violates media rights.
“I propose to create a platform on which to periodically (quarterly or every six months) examine the state of investigation and documentation of russia’s crimes against Ukrainian journalists and the media,” said Sergiy Tomilenko.
He said that the NUJU held a public hearing on this issue in Kharkiv. The President of NUJU thanked the representatives of the National Police and the Prosecutor’s Office who participated in them. Now, the Union is preparing such events in Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia.
“It is clear that it is difficult to punish russia these days. But it is also clear that not all crimes are currently properly documented,” Sergiy Tomilenko noted. “We have a precedent of a destroyed newsroom in the Kharkiv Region, but this case has not been sufficiently recorded. Perhaps journalists do not fully understand what to do. It is clear that Ukrainian law enforcement officers cannot take direct action in the temporarily occupied territory, but at least they can collect testimony from journalists who were injured, in particular, during the shelling of Kharkiv hotels. We see that some of the cases are not properly documented. And, accordingly, there will be no punishment for them.”
In his speech, Sergiy Tomilenko also emphasized the importance of parliamentary and public support for Ukrainian journalists who are under pressure abroad. It is, in particular, about the detention of journalists from Ukrainian Pravda and Rayon.in.ua who were preparing video stories in the Republic of Poland. At the same time, two journalists from Rayon.in.ua were banned from entering the territory of the Schengen zone; their seized equipment was not returned.
“I want to express solidarity with my colleagues and draw attention to situations of obstruction of journalistic activities outside of Ukraine. It is necessary to develop effective mechanisms for helping colleagues. We are trying to help through the International Federation of Journalists. But it is important to use all possible tools to protect Ukrainian media abroad,” Sergiy Tomilenko emphasized.
NUJU Information Service
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