In a resolution adopted unanimously, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe calls for the intensification of efforts to release Ukrainian journalists detained by Russia.
To date, at least 26 media professionals and journalists have been illegally imprisoned, 12 have been killed while reporting and 96 have died in combat or have been killed in bombardments, says the text, which also highlights cyber-attacks, attacks on the confidentiality of sources and restrictions on access to information.
For Russia, the war on Ukraine is also a “war against truth” and journalists have been considered “enemies” since Crimea was annexed in 2014.
“Given the current Russian regime’s disregard for international law, the only means at present (...) is [to exert] every available political, economic and diplomatic pressure on the Russian Federation”, states the Assembly, which calls on the Member States and the EU to strengthen their sanctions regime against those who perpetrate crimes against Ukrainian journalists and media, to support the latter financially and to raise awareness of their plight, in particular through mentoring programmes for detainees.
The Assembly also decided to honour journalists who risk - and often lose - their lives working in conflict zones, at a commemoration to be held from now on at each autumn session.
Called ‘Victory for Viktoria’, the event is dedicated to the Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who was tortured and killed by Russian forces.
Link to the resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/ipg (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)