Iryna Herashchenko called on the OSCE, other international organizations and the Ukraine’s National Union of Journalists to properly assess violations of Ukrainian journalists’ rights while fulfilling their professional duties in the Donbas, the Crimea and the Russian Federation
In her parliamentary comments to the recent OSCE’s “deep concern” statement dedicated to the RIA-Novosti Ukraine indeed resounding shake-downs, the First Vice-Speaker of the Parliament stated on May 16 that the said news agency had soundly been accused of subversive activities held for years in the context of the information proxy war unleashed by the ever-aggressive Russian Federation.
With regret she remarked that the actual violations of journalists' rights had not been given due attention either by the international organizations, and the OSCE in particular, or by the Ukraine’s National Union of Journalists.
The politician urged the OSCE, representatives of other international organizations and the Ukraine’s National Union of Journalists to give a proper assessment of violations of the journalists’ rights that had taken place during 2014-2018 in the Donbas, the Crimea and a belligerent Russia.
Iryna Herashchenko observed there was no institution currently documenting the journalists' rights violations during 2014-2018 in the Donbas, the Crimea and a warlike Russia.
With this in mind, the politician said that she had requested the media from Ukraine to undertake to that effect, and as of today a whole cluster of related information has been formed on bombings, machine-gunnings and injuries gained by camera crew members during their professional duties in the Donbas and the Crimea since 2014.
Iryna Herashchenko is convinced that the information compiled should be used in international courts, in particular, in claims against the Russian Federation for its aggression against Ukraine, and in international organizations.
In her Wednesday address, the First Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Iryna Herashchenko gave a commentary to the declaration signed by the leaders of the Ukraine’s National Union of Journalists and the Russian Union of Journalists about the release of a Ukrainian pressman S. Asieiev.
“This paper does lack a proper addressee – the President of the Russian Federation. It is his sole responsibility whether liberate Stanislav Asieiev or not, as well as other illegitimately gripped Ukrainians,” underscored I.Herashchenko.
The politician thanked the Ukrainian journalists for the information gathered about their rights violations in the Donbas, the Crimea and Russia, and called on to continue sending information about such occurrences to her address directly.
The above mentioned pressmen’s rights infringement databank has been sent out to the Parliament’s Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information Policy, the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for further consideration.