The Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea (ARC), together with the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, is preparing another report to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the persecution of journalists in Russian-occupied Crimea.
"The lack of independent media, tight control over information, censorship, manipulation and propaganda are the real situation with freedom of speech in the occupied peninsula," the press service of the prosecutor's office quoted ARC Prosecutor Ihor Ponochovny as saying on June 5.
According to Ponochovny, the active phase of the occupation was accompanied by pressure on the media, which objectively covered the events on the peninsula. Over 20 people from among journalists, bloggers, employees of Ukrainian and foreign media suffered serious violations of their rights.
"Such a negative trend on the peninsula is still ongoing. The activities of the media are constantly on the occupying [the so-called] 'law enforcement agencies'' radar screen," he added.
Ponochovny says the criminal proceedings initiated by the ARC's prosecutor's office contain numerous facts of persecution of journalists and their families, illegal searches, detentions, extremism charges, prosecution, and blocking of alternative sources of information on the peninsula.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine was initiating the creation of an international platform to end the Russian occupation of Crimea.
