MOSCOW, June 16 (RIA Novosti) - International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) calls on Ukraine to respect freedom of media in connection with the detention of Russian journalists in Dnipropetrovsk, the organization said.
"IFJ and EFJ [European Federation of Journalists] demand respect for media freedom in Ukraine after 2 Russian journalists from Zvezda TV are detained," the organization wrote on Twitter.
On June 14, the TV channel said that its correspondent Evgeny Davydov and sound engineer Nikita Konashenkov had been detained in Dnipropetrovsk, and were held in the Justice Ministry building. The journalists presented their official journalistic licenses. The channel addressed Ukraine's president, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and the Justice Ministry, demanding the immediate release of their staff members.
On Monday, Representatives of Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration have transferred the freed journalists to Russian military aid Eduard Belashev.
Over the past two months, reporters of Russia’s leading channels have been kidnapped, beaten, threatened and denied access to Ukraine.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that unlawful de-facto arrests of journalists by the Ukrainian authorities must stop.
