H.E. Leonid Kuchma
President
Office of the President
Vul. Bankova 11
252005 Kiev
Ukraine

Fax: +380-44-293 10 01 / 293 73 64 / 291 61 61

Vienna, 23 August 2004

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, is deeply concerned about the recent attack on Dmytro Shkuropat, a correspondent for the independent weekly Iskra (“The Spark”).

According to information before IPI, Shkuropat, an investigative journalist working on a story about government corruption, was beaten by an unknown assailant in the early afternoon of 17 August on a main street in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporozhye. According to reports, Shkuropat and a colleague were on their way to the Iskra offices when an unknown man beat Shkuropat unconscious and took a bag containing taped interviews for an article he was working on. The colleague was unhurt.

The attack on Shkuropat, who has investigated official corruption and other criminal activities, could be related to his work or the newspaper’s general editorial line, colleagues say. Local police have started an investigation into the attack.

Staff at Iskra often receive intimidating telephone calls from local businessmen and political officials after publishing critical articles. This attack also comes less than three months after an assault on Petro Kobevko, editor-in-chief of the weekly Chas, in the town of Chernivtsi, who was beaten by unidentified men.

IPI is deeply concerned about the situation in the Ukraine and calls on Your Excellency to ensure that there is a thorough investigation and that those responsible are swiftly brought to justice.

We also urge Your Excellency to take all possible steps to stop the continued attacks on journalists and the alarming impunity that accompanies these crimes, and to work with the media to create an environment that allows journalists to practice their profession free of harassment and intimidation.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director