On March 17, our Association’s expert Olesya Tsybulko reported about challenges for Ukrainian journalists at I Session “Respect: The role of media in conflict and humanitarian crises, including contribution towards accountability” of OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting, that started in Vienna, Austria.
Expert stressed that, as a result of the Russian aggression, a total of 233 Ukrainian media outlets have had to close since February 2022.
ARC’s expert added that Ukrainian journalists are systematically targeted and imprisoned by Russian forces in occupied territories, including Crimea and areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions.
Olesya Tsybulko reminded the OSCE that at least 112 foreign and Ukrainian journalists have been in Russian captivity or have become hostages. The occupiers’ punishers are holding at least 18 Crimean journalists who are citizens of Ukraine and are deprived of their freedom in politically motivated “criminal cases”.
Also ARC’s expert added examples of repressions against bloggers and social networks’ users who wrote truth on the ecological disaster that started after the collapse of two Russian “Volgoneft” tankers in December, 15 and about the real data with corruption in the medical area in the Crimea, including the situation with the employees of the ambulance service.
Olesya Tsybulko recalled the case of Crimean Tatar newspaper “Kyrym”, its editor Bekir Mamutov and founder Seyran Ibragimov who were “fined” in 2024 in Simferopol for the publication of the report of the UN Secretary General.
