57 journalists killed in Ukraine since start of full-scale invasion
According to data from the Office of the Prosecutor General, as many as 57 Ukrainian journalists were killed in Ukraine since February 24, 2022, including eight international journalists.
This was reported by Oleksii Boniuk, Head of the Department of Criminal Law Policy and Investment Protection at the Prosecutor General's Office, during a briefing, as reported by an Ukrinform correspondent.
"The specialized department established within the Prosecutor General's Office is responsible for the procedural guidance of investigations into war crimes committed by the Russian Federation, and it handles all cases related to journalists. All of these cases are being thoroughly examined. Unfortunately, we have launched 107 cases, and we have recorded that 57 journalists were killed since the start of the full-scale war, including eight international journalists," he stated.
According to his data, since February 24, 2022, 45 journalists have been injured, of which 25 are international journalists, 20 journalists have been illegally detained or deprived of their liberty, one journalist is in captivity, and one journalist is missing.
"These are the materials of official investigations. This is what currently underpins specific proceedings. Therefore, it is extremely important that we learn about other facts that will also be properly investigated," assured the representative of the Prosecutor General's Office.
Boniuk added that certain cases are also being heard in court.
"We already have a number of sentences. We have four indictments against nine individuals in a special proceeding. Of these nine individuals, three have already been convicted, one of them – to nine years in prison, and two others – to 12 years in prison," he said.
The representative of the Prosecutor General's Office noted that non-military crimes against journalists are also under their control.
At the same time, Kateryna Diachuk, Head of the Freedom of Dpeech Monitoring Department at the Institute of Mass Information, pointed out that this year, Russia has intensified its threats against the media. In particular, Russia is again shelling television towers. The expert also mentioned threats of terrorism. "These threats were received not only by media professionals but also by other entities. However, many media professionals received personal threats, and we know that this is specifically related to certain female journalists... due to their investigations. These cases are being recorded continuously. We record about 20+ such cases each month," Diachuk stated.
Additionally, she mentioned crimes against journalists committed by Ukrainian citizens. According to Diachuk, while the number of such incidents fell to zero at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, some activity is now being recorded. This primarily concerns interference with journalists' activities in the regions or problems with access to information, responses to inquiries, and so on.
As reported, on November 2, the European External Action Service released a statement indicating that journalists carrying out their duties in combat zones are considered civilians, and that international law recognizes intentional attacks against them as war crimes.