As many as 56 acts of physical violence were committed against media workers in Ukraine in the first nine months of 2020, the head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, Sergiy Tomilenko, said on Monday
KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd November, 2020) As many as 56 acts of physical violence were committed against media workers in Ukraine in the first nine months of 2020, the head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, Sergiy Tomilenko, said on Monday.
"During the first nine months of 2020, 56 incidents of physical aggression towards journalists have been recorded," Tomilenko said in a post on Facebook.
An act of violence is committed against a journalist in Ukraine every four to five days, Tomilenko stated, adding that his organization was gravely concerned that many of the perpetrators of the aggression are not brought to justice.
"Because of the total impunity for those who commit violence against journalists, working in the media has become as dangerous as working as a police officer or member of the military ... This is unacceptable for a democratic, European country," Tomilenko wrote.
Throughout the whole of 2019, the union reported 75 acts of violence against reporters and members of the media in Ukraine.
There have been multiple reports of journalists in Ukraine facing harassment, violence, or threats to their lives over recent years. Kirill Vyshinsky, a Russian journalist who led the Kiev-based RIA Novosti Ukraine portal, was detained by police for more than a year from 2018 to 2019. Vyshinsky was accused of treason and for supporting the self-proclaimed republics in Donbas.
Vyshinsky was eventually released in August 2019 and swiftly returned to Russia.
