Ukraine / Europe & Central Asia

  
A protester is seen near a barricade of flames between police and demonstrators in Kiev. (AFP/Louisa Gouliamaki)

Journalist among dead in Ukraine protests

New York, February 19, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by the murder of a journalist and reports that pro-government groups are targeting journalists covering nationwide protests in Ukraine. The demonstrations have left at least 26 people dead and several hundred injured, including journalists, according to news reports.

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Attacks on the Press in 2013: Ukraine

Despite its status as the 2013 chairman of the human rights and security agency the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Ukraine did little to promote press freedom in the region. Local reporters expressed doubt about the editorial independence of news outlets, as the owners of a critical broadcaster and a large media holding…

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Attacks on journalists persist amid protests in Ukraine

New York, February 5, 2014–At least two international journalists reported being abducted and beaten while covering protests in Ukraine on Friday, according to news reports. The attack comes as two local press freedom groups each reported that more than 100 journalists have been attacked or briefly detained since the nationwide protests began in late November.

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Journalists assaulted amid protests in Ukraine

New York, January 22, 2014–Dozens of journalists were attacked, and their equipment damaged, while reporting on anti-government protests that began over the weekend in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, according to local and international news reports. The protests come as the government has approved new legislation imposing restrictions on the media.

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A protester holds pictures of Tetyana Chornovol, who was beaten and left in a ditch hours after publishing an article on the assets of a top government official. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)

Ukraine must hold independent probe in journalist beating

New York, December 27, 2013–The Ukrainian government must ensure that a thorough, independent, and transparent investigation is conducted in the brutal attack early Wednesday on prominent journalist Tetyana Chornovol, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Chornovol remains hospitalized in the capital, Kiev, with a concussion and multiple head injuries.

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Journalists attacked while covering protests in Kiev

A video report by a Euronews cameraman shows him being attacked by police during clashes in Kiev. (YouTube/Euronews) New York, December 2, 2013–At least 51 journalists were attacked while covering protests in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev and other cities over the weekend, according to news reports and local journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists…

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Another reporter attacked, hospitalized in eastern Ukraine

New York, July 29, 2013–Federal authorities in Ukraine should take over the investigation into today’s brutal attack on a TV journalist who had regularly reported on allegations of corruption in the regional police force, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Sergei Ostapenko, a reporter for Irta, suffered a broken jaw and other injuries in…

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In Ukraine, journalist hospitalized after brutal assault

New York, July 22, 2013–Two assailants on Sunday severely beat Oleg Bogdanov, a Ukrainian journalist who has been subjected to an escalating series of attacks in recent months that have included threats and an arson attack on his car, according to news reports.

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Journalists in Kiev protest police officers' failure to intervene in an assault against two reporters. A demonstrator holds a photo of a man said to have been among the assailants. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)

Journalists attacked at Kiev rally; police fail to intervene

New York, May 20, 2013–Several assailants beat two reporters covering an opposition protest outside Ukrainian Interior Ministry headquarters in Kiev on Saturday in view of police officers who failed to intervene, according to local and international press reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the beating and the inaction of police, and it calls on…

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The wife of Philippines journalist Gerardo Ortega looks at his picture. (AFP/Noel Celis)

News of convictions in journalist murders sadly infrequent

We received an unusual email last week. Michaella Ortega wrote to tell us that Marlon Recamata, who confessed to shooting her father, Philippine journalist Gerardo Ortega, in 2011, had been convicted and sentenced to life for the crime.

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