The Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko disproves the information that a photo-correspondent of “Segodnia” daily was beaten by its representatives in the evening of 26 August.
According to the bloc’s press-service, “we called to our Odessa electoral HQ, and get to know that there was no such incident, no journalists of “Segodnia” daily were beaten”.
The press-service stressed that this information is false, and assesses it as a provocation of the Party of Regions, to which Segodnia belongs, against BYuT.
As UNIAN reported earlier, “Segodnia” daily photographer Oleksander Lesyk was beaten at a BYuT rally in Odessa at around 22.30 on 26 August. Within 10 minutes after the rally, the photographer saw a group of people who were loading BYuT flags and tents with BYuT logos into an ambulance car. When the journalist tried to take photos of that, four men and a girl approached him. The girl introduced herself as Iryna, an employee of the BYuT party organization in the Kyivskiy district of Odessa. She demanded to stop shooting and immediately wipe out all the photos. The photographer refused, arguing that, in line with the law, he has a right to take photos of such rallies and everything that takes place at them.
After that, the ambulance car driver, two people in doctor’s coats, and another two in white T-shorts with BYuT logos ran to the journalist. They began to twist his arms, trying to remove the photo-camera from him. He was thrown on the ground and beaten with legs and hands.
The photographer, who had just recovered from a stroke, was saved by passers-by.
They also helped him to get to the nearest police department. His application about hooligan actions against a newspaper employee, together with a medical certificate, confirming the beating, was registered in the Prymorskiy police station of Odessa.
“Segodnia” daily demands law-enforcement agencies to take all the necessary measures to find and punish those guilty with beating the photo-correspondent.
