Ukrainian parliament turns to Polish counterparts due to detention of Ukrainska Pravda journalists
Pravda Ukraine
The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) Committee for Freedom of Speech has officially turned to profile commissions of the Polish Sejm (Parliament) and Senate with a request to look into the reason for the detention of the journalists of Ukrainska Pravda at the border and take this issue under parliamentary control.
Source: Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, MP from the Holos party and Head of the Committee, cited by European Pravda
Details: He recalled the circumstances of the detention of journalist Mykhailo Tkach and operator Yaroslav Bondarenko during the filming of a story, noting that their memory cards with the material they had filmed and mobile phones were seized; they were threatened with long detention and denied the possibility to get in touch with the outside world.
“This is not only an obstruction of journalistic activity but also a human rights violation. We were waiting for the reaction of the Polish authorities, but to no avail. So, following the decision of the Committee for Freedom of Speech, as its chairman, I sent an official letter to the profile commissions of the Senate and Sejm of Poland in order to find out the official reason for such actions by the law enforcement officers. I think that Poland should take this issue under parliamentary control since threats to journalists and interrogations are not a normal practice for a European state that supports freedom of speech,” Yurchyshyn stated.
He noted that Ukraine appreciates Poland’s support in the war but could not ignore such facts, and the committee was waiting for the official reactions of the Polish counterparts.
Polish law enforcement officers arrested Mykhailo Tkach and his cameraman close to the Polish-Belarusian border on 27 February while they were filming a story about the transit of goods between Poland, Russia, and Belarus. The footage was partly deleted by the Polish authorities. Editor-in-Chief of Ukrainska Pravda Sevğil Musayeva stated that the situation was only settled after it was made public and with the support of Ukraine’s embassy in Poland.
The Polish police later provided their perspective on the situation.
Support UP or become our patron!