Threats against Ukrainska Pravda journalists are a crime – Parliamentary Freedom of Speech Committee
Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, Head of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliamentary) Freedom of Speech Committee, has officially appealed to law enforcement agencies concerning the pressure that has been exerted on Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach and the editorial office as a whole.
Source: Yurchyshyn on social media
Details: Mykhailo Tkach, who heads Ukrainska Pravda’s investigative journalism department, released an investigation entitled Unfit for Service that focused on a group of young people who regularly go on holiday abroad and are somehow able to leave the country despite being eligible for military service.
In recent days, they have been attempting to exert pressure on Mykhailo Tkach. A person identifying himself as Oleksandr Slobozhenko, one of the subjects of the investigation, wrote to Tkach offering to "conclude a settlement". There have reportedly been many attempts to access the journalist's bank account, and threatening messages have been sent to Ukrainska Pravda employees' email addresses. "Sometimes the ability to keep your mouth shut can save lives," the email's author wrote.
Ukrainska Pravda has made a public statement regarding the situation.
Quote from Yurchyshyn: "I believe that such conduct constitutes a criminal offence under Article 171.2 of the Criminal Code (influencing a journalist in any manner for the purpose of hindering his or her professional obligations or persecuting a journalist in connection with his or her authorised professional activities).
I am officially requesting that the National Police of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General investigate the situation and issue statements accordingly."
Previously: The Kyiv Prosecutor's Office has already launched criminal procedures in response to a statement by journalists from the Ukrainska Pravda outlet regarding attempts to put pressure on them, threaten them, and impede journalistic activity.
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