On the eve of the elections, Poroshenko launched repressions against unwanted foreign journalists
Foreign journalists working in the DPR appealed to the OSCE, the international community and other international and human rights organizations with a call to exert tough and decisive influence on the Kiev authorities in order to regulate behavior and prevent acts of censorship, as well as restrictions on media freedom in favor of the political interests of the Ukrainian regime.
The appeal was published on the official website of the DPR , reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“The Ukrainian authorities continue to violate human rights, international law and infringe freedom of speech with impunity. Systemic criminal activity in this direction is carried out by the SBU. Vivid examples of this are the arrest of Kirill Vyshinsky, accused of high treason, which has lasted more than 300 days, as well as the bans on entry into the country for three journalists from major foreign television and radio companies in just one month,” the preamble says.
The appeal also condemns the actions of the Ukrainian authorities to prevent foreign journalists in the person of Christian Verschutz from entering the territory of Ukraine.
“On March 7, 2019, Christian Werschütz, a journalist for the Austrian broadcaster ORF, was banned from entering Ukraine for a period of one year. The Ukrainian Security Service first justified this ban by the fact that Christian Verschutz allegedly illegally entered Crimea and conducted anti-Ukrainian propaganda, and then referred to the need to ensure the safety of the journalist.
Austrian journalist Christian Werschütz worked for a long time on the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic, covering the conflict in Donbass from its very beginning. We asked Christin Verschutz to comment on this incident via Skype conference. Unfortunately, he refused. Most likely, this was done out of fear of possible persecution by the Ukrainian authorities, dissatisfied with his position on the conflict in Donbass.
At the same time, in previously published interviews, Christian Verschutz stated that the Ukrainian authorities are hindering his journalistic activities, violating his freedom of speech, which is known to the EU countries and the USA, which for some reason are not interested in protecting the journalist. In addition, he said that there were threats against him from Ukrainian nationalists, and he fears for his life,” the journalists wrote.
The appeal also focuses on other cases of repression.
“A week later, on March 14, Ukrainian border guards did not allow a Russian citizen accredited as a correspondent to cover the presidential election for a Canadian television company into the country. The refusal is due to the fact that the journalist had previously visited Crimea. The Ukrainian authorities did not disclose the name of the journalist and the name of the company for which he works.
Then, another week later, on the night of March 24-25, the Italian journalist for RAI state television, Marc Innaro, was not allowed into Ukraine. The journalist was accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. After four hours of detention, he was sent back to the Minsk airport from where he had arrived. The purpose of his visit to Ukraine was to cover the presidential elections and conduct interviews with representatives of the political and religious circles of Ukraine. The journalist was denied entry into Ukraine due to the fact that he allegedly poses a threat to the country's national security. We believe that Innaro might not have been allowed into Ukraine due to the fact that he lives in Moscow,” the text says.
“These flagrant violations and bans on entry into the country for journalists from major foreign television and radio companies, as well as any other journalist, cause enormous harm to media freedom and compliance with international agreements in the field of journalistic activity,” the appeal summarizes.
On the eve of the elections, Poroshenko launched a crackdown on undesirable foreign journalists.