State does not ensure journalists' safety, says Road Control project

Kyiv, March 28 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Road Control online publication has said it is outraged by the lack of progress in the investigation into the attack on the co-founder of the publication, Rostyslav Shaposhnykov.

"Our brave police are unable to find those guilty or even [identify] those who committed this crime," Deputy Head of the Road Control project Andriy Zhukoven said at a press conference hosted by Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.

He said that Shaposhnykov was attacked "in broad daylight in front of thousands of people." Two cyclists unintentionally became witnesses of the assault of the journalist on the road in Troyeschynsky wood. Thanks to the cyclists, the journalist survived.

The police opened a criminal case on robbery and the prosecutor's office later changed its specification to a predatory attack, although Shaposhnykov was only robbed of two old cell phones, while the muggers left valuable things, namely a expensive watch and a gold chain.

"Any journalist could find himself in such a situation, any person could be forced into a car before the eyes of thousands of witnesses, be taken to a forest, killed, assaulted, violated - anything could be done to a person, and our professional police, regardless of numerous witnesses would open a criminal case on, let's say violation of public order or hooliganism. This is absurd, but we can see that this is our reality," Zhukoven said.

"The state cannot ensure safety of its citizens, the state cannot ensure the safety of journalists, despite the pompous statements of our guarantor of the constitution that journalists can work in peace," he added.

As reported, Kyiv police opened a criminal case on the attack and robbery of the co-founder of the Road Control online publication, Rostyslav Shaposhnykov. Later, the prosecutor's office of Desniansky district changed the qualification of the case to a premeditated predatory attack by a group of people.

On March 24, the journalist was taken outside Kyiv and beaten, after which the attackers left him on the road. Two cyclists noticed him and called an ambulance. The journalist also told the police that the attackers stole some of his personal belongings.