VIENNA, May 22 (RIA Novosti) – Russia has brought the matter of Ukraine’s violation of journalists' rights before the permanent council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Russian OSCE envoy Andrei Kelin said Thursday.
“We have noted a whole range of grave violations of Ukraine’s commitments in the mass media sphere. There is a lack of special measures ensuring the freedom of journalists, including protection from deportation, the freedom of movement through the country’s border has been limited, journalists cannot perform their editorial tasks and the agreements for radio and TV broadcast are being violated,” Kelin said.
LifeNews journalists Marat Sidyakin and Oleg Saichenko were detained Sunday by the Ukrainian National Guard near the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region after they recorded a UN-marked military helicopter apparently used in a special operation targeting demonstrators. They were later accused of assisting terrorism in the region.
“We directly demanded that the Ukrainian ambassador respond to the question of why the OSCE mission is not allowed access to the journalists and when they will be released,” Kelin said. The Ukrainian ambassador answered that the journalists are accused of terrorism, without giving details.
The Russian OSCE envoy said earlier this week the plight of two Russian journalists detained in Ukraine was only getting worse. Concerns about media restrictions in Ukraine have deepened as foreign journalists began flocking to the country ahead of the May 25 presidential election, he added.
Russia has already handed over to the OSCE a statement by Russia’s National Association of TV and Radio Broadcasters, which lists all restrictions and violations against journalists working in Ukraine.
Over the past two months, reporters of Russia’s leading channels have been kidnapped, beaten, threatened and denied access to Ukraine. Broadcasting of Russian media has also been banned across the country.
