Nineteen criminal cases over the beatings of reporters covering rallies in Kyiv have been opened, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada committee on freedom of speech and information (Batkivschyna faction) Mykola Tomenko said.

"As of today, four more reporters are registering cases and 19 have been opened. Out of the nineteen, one reporter is Polish and 18 are local journalists working for the Ukrainian and foreign mass media outlets," Tomenko said when speaking at Kyiv's main square, Maidan, on Tuesday.

According to Tomenko, reporters have filed statements under the Criminal Code Article 171 - obstructing professional activities. "It is of critical significance that officers of the special purpose police unit Berkut beat them knowing that they were reporters," he said.