Harlem Desir, the media freedom representative with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), on Wednesday renewed his call on Ukraine to respect reporters' right to protect their sources
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th February, 2019) Harlem Desir, the media freedom representative with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), on Wednesday renewed his call on Ukraine to respect reporters' right to protect their sources.On Monday, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine said that a court in Kiev had granted the country's prosecutors access to documents of Novoe Vremya, a Ukrainian news website. This was reportedly related to a 2016 article on corruption among high-ranking prosecutors.
"The right of journalists to protect confidential sources is key to free press and investigative journalism. I call on the authorities to respect this confidentiality, especially when journalists report on issues of public interest," Desir was quoted as saying in an OSCE statement.
The media watchdog's office stressed this was not the first time Desir had to warn Ukraine against forcing journalists to disclose their sources. Last September, the same Kiev court granted prosecutors' request to review all data from a cell phone of a reporter with the US-funded Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, which is investigating corruption in Ukraine.
