A Victory for Free Speech

Ukraine's ICTV television channel has scored a victory in a complaint filed against the guards of the Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Ministry, who allegedly hampered an ICTV film crew.

An inquiry held by the Prosecutor-General's Office confirmed the facts that guards exceeded their remit during the visit of the ICTV film crew to the Fuel and Energy Ministry, the press service of the Prosecutor-General's Office said. Following the inspection, the head of the armed guards was dismissed and two guards were subjected to disciplinary punishment.

According to reports, on 3 February, ICTV journalist Andriy Voronin and cameraman Oleh Kharchenko entered the lobby of the Fuel and Energy Ministry with their camera switched on. The channel's editorial board assigned them to ask the fuel and energy minister how the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline was planned to be used (to pump Caspian oil from Odessa to Brody or Russian oil from Brody to Odessa). This happened a day before the Cabinet of Ministers was to announce the final decision on how the pipeline would be used.

The film crew was stopped by "unidentified people in camouflage, who introduced themselves as guards, rudely tried to stop the filming, used force against journalists and shoved them out of the buildings". "These people did not provide any clear explanation for their actions," the ICTV press service said.

The journalists described the actions of the Fuel and Energy Ministry's guards as "explicit violation of the right of journalists to receive information unhindered" and "unconcealed rudeness and open disrespect".