OSCE concerned by violence against journalists in Ukraine

15:30, 02.12.2013 1 min read

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic has said she is concerned by the amount of violence used against the media during the demonstrations in Kyiv, reads the report of Mijatovic passed to Interfax-Ukraine on Monday.

"I'm especially concerned that in most of the cases, the beatings were reportedly conducted by the law enforcement officers, who attacked journalists and disregarded their press identification," she wrote in a letter to OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara.

"Violence against journalists cannot be tolerated," Mijatovic wrote.

She reiterated the call to the Ukrainian authorities to take urgent action to halt the violence against the media and to swiftly launch investigations into these attacks.

According to information available to the representative's office, more than 40 journalists representing national and international media outlets, including Ukrainska Pravda, Channel 5, 1+1, Euronews, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, and the New York Times, were physically assaulted and severely injured while covering the public protests in Kyiv.