More than 50 Ukrainian journalists have been killed or have died under suspicious circumstances since Ukraine became an independent nation in 1991.
The lack of progress in most of the investigations underscores the continuing risks to journalism that undermine freedom of the press.
A special exhibit in honor of journalists slain in the line of duty or missing since Ukraine’s independence will be shown at the Kyiv Post’s 20th Anniversary Gala Event, commemorating the newspaper’s founding in 1995.
“As the Kyiv Post marks its anniversary in celebration of independent journalism, we have an obligation to remember those journalists whose lives were taken simply because they upheld the values that we cherish and all too often take for granted: honest, independent journalism in the service of truth and democracy,” said Kyiv Post chief editor Brian Bonner. “We must also keep pressing for justice since, in so many of these unsolved cases, it seems that authorities either didn’t care or were in silent conspiracy with the murderers. Democracy in Ukraine remains far from perfect, but it’s much better than in the dark days of President Leonid Kuchma, who condoned intimidation — and much worse — in an attempt to silence free speech and silence journalists in Ukraine.”
Most of the
murders and mysterious deaths were recorded by police in early years of
Ukraine’s independence, during the wildly lawless years of ex-Presidents Leonid
Kravchuk and Kuchma.
During
Viktor Yushchenko’s one term as the nation’s third president, from 2005-2010,
there were just two cases of journalists being killed.
But the
death toll spiked after the start of the EuroMaidan Revolution that prompted
President Viktor Yanukovych to flee office on Feb. 22, 2014. And journalists
continued to get killed, some of them foreign, while covering Russia’s war
against Ukraine.
Ukraine
still ranks among the most dangerous countries for the press.
At least
seven journalists were killed in 2014, says Oksana Romanyuk who heads the
Institute for Mass Information.
This
includes Vyacheslav Veremiy, a reporter for Vesti newspaper. He was killed in
Kyiv early on Feb. 18, 2014 on his way home at night in a taxi. The death
stands out as one of the few in which police reported success in an
investigation, as a suspect, Yuriy Krysin, a native of Donetsk Oblast believed
to be a hired thug, was arrested. However, court proceedings are still ongoing.
During
Russia’s war against Ukraine, Oleh Zadoyanchuk became one of the first
journalists killed. The news service reporter was killed near Dmytrivka in
Luhansk Oblast in September.
So far this
year, two of the 37 journalists killed worldwide died in Ukraine, according to
Reporters Without Borders. Oles Buzyna, a former chief editor of Segodnya
newspaper and Serhiy Nikolaiev, a Segodnya photojournalist, were the victims.
Three suspects have been detained in the murder of Buzyna, known for his
pro-Kremlin views, while Nikolaiev was killed in the war zone.
Romanyuk
says the murder totals don’t reflect the more common dangers, such as an
increase in the number of attacks against journalists recently.
“In July we
have registered seven cases when journalists were beaten and assaulted ,”
Romanyuk says. “It shows that the attacks on journalists are not seen as
something bad in society.”
The biggest
problem in perpetuating the immunity is the criminal justice system, Romanyuk
said. Investigations are slow and sometimes suspects are released.
Svitlana
Ostapa, a media expert and a deputy chief editor for Telekrytyka media
watchdog, said that the relationship between journalists and judges is still
complicated.
“Even when
journalists call on courts to hold open court hearings when it comes to the
cases where media representatives were involved, it’s difficult,” Ostapa says.
“And the information is often classified, because the cases on journalists are
under special control.”
Some of the
more memorable cases, aside from the Sept. 16, 2000, murder of journalist
Georgiy Gongadze, included the 2010 Kharkiv journalist Vasyl Klymentiev who
went missing and the 2001 murder of Ihor Alexandrov, beaten to death by his
baseball-bat wielding attackers as he entered Tor TV station in Donetsk Oblast where he worked. Many believe his
murder was connected to his program, Bez Retushi (Without Censorship), where he
exposed government corruption.
Viktor
Pshonka, now a fugitive ex-prosecutor general, was the Donetsk regional
prosecutor then. In mid-December, the General Prosecutor’s Office charged Yury
Verdyuk for the death after detaining him in August. But he was acquitted. Two
other suspects — brothers Oleksandr and Dmytry Rybak — were convicted in 2006
and continue to serve prison sentences.
Kyiv Post
staff writer Olena Goncharova can be reached at [email protected].
