The Ministry of Internal Affairs cooperates with the National Security Service of Ukraine to reduce the number of attacks on journalists - Anton Gerashchenko
This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs during the All-Ukrainian Meeting of Editors of Print Media, which took place on March 25 in online format. The event was organized by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, and more than 150 editors of national and regional newspapers took part in the meeting.
“After my appointment in September 2019, Minister Arsen Avakov instructed me to take care of the protection of journalists, to contact the leadership of the NJU — Mr. Tomilenko, his deputies. We are working together on the main thing: to reduce aggression in society, to reduce the number of attacks on journalists,” Anton Gerashchenko said.
He stressed that attacks on journalists are a problem of education, human disrespect for society, as well as negative work of the human rights system as a whole.
“Probably, I need to protest against the judicial system, which does not cope with the tasks assigned to it. After all, the trials for the offending journalists last for years, the guilty do not receive sentences of five years or more, and this makes it possible for aggressors to escape punishment,” the deputy minister added.
Chairman of the National Security Service of Ukraine Serhiy Tomilenko noted that recently some progress has been recorded regarding the prompt response to cases of obstruction of journalistic activity, there are precedents of punishment of attackers.
“A new department has been created in the National Police — the Department for the Protection of Neighborhood and State Interests, which takes care of the operational support of the facts of attacks on journalists. This is an additional tool to influence the situation. These cases are being investigated on the ground, but now the Metropolitan Department of the National Police carries out additional control,” says Serhiy Tomilenko.
