Journalists call for probe into Ukraine violations

Russian journalists have called on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to investigate rights violations against journalists in Ukraine.

The Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) on Thursday urged the OSCE to create a contact group to investigate crimes committed against the media members that work in conflict zones in Ukraine.

The union’s secretary, Ashot Djazoyan, said the panel can assemble journalists from various countries in order to launch an enquiry into numerous incidents of torture and rights violations against journalists in Ukraine. He noted that more than 80 cases of violations of journalists’ rights in Ukraine have been recorded since the beginning of the crisis in the country in November last year.

“OSCE could actually set up a group of journalists to launch investigations starting from this story – the Ukrainian conflict – in order to prevent further attempts to put journalists to torture and to violate their rights,” Djazoyan said.

He also suggested addressing the idea to OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic, adding that the union had already talked with foreign partners on the formation of the group.

The RUJ’s call for an OSCE investigation followed the killing of three Russian journalists covering events in the flashpoint southeastern regions of Ukraine.

Anatoly Klyan, a cameraman for Russia’s Channel One, was shot dead by Ukrainian forces in the eastern city of Donetsk on June 30. Moreover, on June 17, state TV broadcaster VGTRK correspondents Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin were killed near the eastern city of Lugansk.

In the latest attack on media members in Ukraine, the residence of Russia’s Channel One journalists came under fire in the southeastern city of Slavyansk in Donetsk on Thursday. The channel’s spokesperson Larisa Krymova said the crew remains unharmed.