Following Ukraine, the United States equates journalists to spies
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is being asked to bring up for international discussion the issue of the safety of journalists in war, and they want to give a public assessment to the new instructions of the US Department of Defense, which allowed journalists to be equated with “unprivileged participants in the conflict” in a combat zone and allows “punishment” to be applied to them, they report. News".
Subscribe to PolitNavigator – Kyiv news on Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte
“This is stated in the appeal of the chairman of the commission for the development of public diplomacy and support of compatriots abroad of the RF OP Elena Sutormina, sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the newspaper writes. – According to Elena Sutormina, after the precedent in the United States, other countries may issue such instructions, including Ukraine, where Russian journalists now work. The US Department of Defense published new instructions at the end of June. “Covering military operations can be very similar to intelligence or spy reporting. A journalist who acts as a spy may be subject to security measures and may face punishment if caught." At the same time, it is not specified what punishment and under what circumstances a journalist may be subjected.
At the same time, the American instructions state that journalists can be not only civilians, but members of the armed forces, people authorized to accompany the armed forces, or non-privileged participants in the conflict,” but at the same time does not specify the criteria according to which a journalist can be classified as these categories.
“Essentially, the Pentagon thus allows the American military, at its discretion, to apply “punishment” to journalists, which is not even specified in the document, which is an unprecedented and blatant attempt to put pressure on the media,” Elena Sutormina said in her appeal. “We believe that the enshrinement of such principles in official documents is a gross violation of the Geneva Convention of August 12, 1949 relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, as well as the basic principles of freedom of speech and journalistic activity.” The letter states that "the publication of the US Department of Defense guidance should be subject to strong condemnation by the international community."
The author of the letter asks the Russian Foreign Ministry to “raise this issue within the UN and OSCE with a demand to give a public assessment of this document.”
“The presence of journalists in the conflict zone was a deterrent,” Dmitry Abzalov, president of the Center for Strategic Communications, commented on the situation. “It was difficult to carry out large-scale operations that violated human rights if journalists were present. The instructions actually make it possible to open a hunt for journalists, as was the case in Syria and Ukraine.”
Representatives of the Russian media who covered the military conflict in Donbass also call the wording of the American instructions regarding journalists dangerous.
“And now the rights of journalists in hot spots are often violated,” said LifeNews special correspondent Olga Rogozhina. “We all remember the events that happened a little over a year ago, when our colleagues Oleg Sidyakin and Marat Saichenko were detained, although they had accreditations, equipment, and all the documents. Ukrainian security forces detained them and accused them of aiding terrorism. It’s good that everything ended well then, but there are plenty of other similar stories, perhaps not so loud. You can also recall the statement that was made about six months ago from the Ukrainian side, when they called on snipers to shoot at people who had the designation “Pressa” on their clothes. I believe that people who write such instructions show that they are afraid of journalists. They are afraid that people will find out the truth.
“As practice shows, the Ukrainian side ignores or grossly violates the norms of international legislation regarding journalists,” Alexander Kots, a correspondent for the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, agrees with his colleague. – Suffice it to recall the story with the LifeNews guys, who were held captive for several days, the same thing happened with the journalists of the Zvezda TV channel. I, along with LifeNews journalists and Rossiya TV channel journalists, have been put on the wanted list in Ukraine under terrorism charges. This is an attempt to clean up the information field, to remove unwanted journalists who give unfavorable information. It is clear that such issues must be raised at the diplomatic level, at the OSCE or UN level.”
English version :: Read in English Following Ukraine, the United States equates journalists to spies