The Committee to Shield Journalists (CPJ) called on Friday for a complete and clear inquiry into latest occasions the place Ukrainian navy officers allegedly tried to serve an investigative summons to Yevhen Shulhat, a journalist working for the Ukrainian investigative outlet Slidstvo.Information. Based on reviews from Slidstvo.Info, this incident was orchestrated by Ukraine’s Inner Safety Service (SBU), purportedly in retaliation for Shulhat’s investigations into the actual property belongings of Ilya Vityuk, the pinnacle of the cybersecurity division of the Safety Service of Ukraine.
Based on accounts from Slidstvo.Information and different native media outlets, on April 1, 2024, two officers from an area navy recruitment workplace approached Shulhat whereas he was grocery purchasing, making an attempt handy him a discover to report back to their workplace. When Shulhat started recording and questioning the officers about potential hyperlinks to his probe into Vityuk’s property holdings, they promptly left. Though people in Shulhat’s age group are legally topic to conscription beneath Ukraine’s martial regulation laws, the circumstances surrounding this occasion counsel a deviation from established procedures outlined in Ukrainian regulation. Notably, CCTV footage examined by Slidstvo.Information revealed the 2 officers coming into the grocery store accompanied by a civilian, recognized by Slidstvo.Information as an SBU consultant. This particular person identified Shulhat earlier than departing. Shortly after, the officers approached Shulhat, addressing him by identify, and knowledgeable him of the necessity to replace his private info with the recruitment board, citing his latest twenty seventh birthday.
This incident has sparked widespread reactions inside navy, political, and media circles. On April 7, a number of Ukrainian organizations and media retailers issued a joint statement, calling on the President, the Ministry of Protection, and the SBU to provoke legal proceedings towards these answerable for the focused recruitment operation. Subsequently, on April 8, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office introduced the graduation of a legal case for attainable abuse of authority and obstruction of journalists’ skilled actions by SBU and navy recruitment workplace personnel. The investigation is being overseen by the Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation. Moreover, on April 9, the pinnacle of the SBU’s cybersecurity division was suspended pending the investigation, whereas the pinnacle of the navy recruitment workplace was demoted.
Whereas Ukraine has made progress in selling press freedom and media pluralism, the nation nonetheless faces vital challenges on this space. Based on Reporters With out Borders’ 2023 World Press Freedom Index, Ukraine ranks 79th out of 180 nations. Ukrainian journalists proceed to be focused for assaults and abuse by Russia, along with dealing with instances of harassment from authorities inside their very own authorities. Worldwide organizations such because the Worldwide Press Institute have documented a regarding development of state-backed intimidation and harassment towards investigative journalists in Ukraine. A notable instance is the case of Bihus.Info, who uncovered that the SBU had covertly recorded a few of their staff consuming medication throughout a New 12 months’s celebration, subsequently leaking the footage to discredit the group. In response to this revelation, the safety service dismissed the implicated staff and pledged to uphold press freedom, although doubts stay about their real dedication to this basic precept.
