The International Press Institute (IPI) and its affiliate, the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), today joined international calls demanding accountability after Ukrainian security forces reportedly beat dozens of journalists and others covering demonstrations in Kiev.
The office of OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović yesterday said that “more than 40 journalists representing national and international media outlets, including Ukrainskaya Pravda, 5 Kanal, 1+1, Euronews, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, The Associated Press [and] The New York Times, were physically assaulted and severely injured while covering the public protests” in Ukraine’s capital.
The Media Law Institute in Kiev said that more than 50 journalists across the country were assaulted and that not only were journalists attacked, but “their professional equipment – cameras and camcorders – was destroyed as well”.
IPI Press Freedom Manager Barbara Trionfi said: “We are appalled at the accounts of indiscriminate brutality, and even more so by reports that security services deliberately attacked individuals who had clearly identified themselves as journalists. We urge Ukraine’s government to hold accountable everyone involved in perpetrating such acts – from the individual officers involved to anyone in authority who ordered or allowed such violence to occur.”