Increasing trust in the police is impossible without the support of the media - Anton Gerashchenko
This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine during the regional hearings on the security of journalists, which took place today, July 9, at the Main Directorate of the National Police of the Odessa region.
The hearings were attended by representatives of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NJU) and regional media. In particular, the editors-in-chief of Izbirkom and Alternativa.org Valery Bulgan and Roman Varshanidze, editor-in-chief of “Channel 7” news Alexander Poluyev and journalist of Dumskaya.net Olena Balaba and others.
According to Anton Gerashchenko, the press in Ukraine can be considered the “fourth power”, which forms the opinions of many people, but at the same time there are real problems associated with journalistic activities. On the one hand, this is the lack of tolerance of the press on the part of society, and on the other - the control of the media by certain financial groups.
“In Ukraine, journalists' rights are protected by law — in particular, articles 171 and 345-1 of the Criminal Code. Moreover, they are protected on a par with the rights of law enforcement officers,” the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs stressed.
Head of the Department for the Protection of Public and State Interests of the National Police Evgeny Makarov also noted the relevance and importance of protecting the rights of the media community.
“For more fruitful interaction and prompt exchange of information, a mailbox has been created for direct dialogue with representatives of the mass media. All messages that arrive there are immediately processed and sent for response to the appropriate police authorities,” he said.
Acting head of the GUNP Oleksandr Ganzha assured that the police of the region are doing everything possible to ensure the safety of journalists and effectively investigate crimes committed against them.
“We are always open to constructive dialogue with representatives of the media and are ready by all means provided by law to contribute to the protection of their professional activities and the restoration of rights and freedoms in the event of violations,” he stressed.
Deputy Head of GUNP — Head of Investigative Department Oleksandr Salamakha informed about the state of investigation of proceedings on the facts of criminal offenses in the sphere of professional activity of journalists.
According to him, over the past five years, 93 proceedings of this category have been registered by the investigative units of the police of Odessa region. These are crimes provided for in Articles 171 (Obstruction of the lawful professional activity of journalists), 345-1 (Threat or violence against a journalist), 347-1 (Intentional destruction or damage to a journalist's property) and 348-1 (encroachment on the life of a journalist) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. According to the results of the investigation, 17 proceedings were referred to the court.
In this regard, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Anton Gerashchenko proposed to publish an exhaustive list of these proceedings and information on the state of investigation of each case.
“I consider this to be one of the steps towards quality interaction with the media. We are constantly working to ensure that trust in the police grows, and this is impossible without the support of the mass media,” he said.
