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State
Dept. fails to recognize ‘individuals’ detained by Kiev as
Russian journalists
20
May, 2014
Washington
has failed to condemn the detention of Russian journalists working in
Ukraine, instead doubting they were journalists at all and accusing
them of smuggling weapons based on a “reports and conversations”
on the ground.
The
US State Department claims that Russian journalists were in
possession of press accreditation that was given to them by the
self-proclaimed Donetsk republic, which Ukraine and the US do not
recognize.
“The
Ukrainian Security Services, according to reports, have detained a
number of people who were in possession of fake journalist
credentials issued by the non-existent Donetsk People’s Republic,”
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at a daily press
briefing.
Psaki
did not specify precisely which journalists she was referring to, but
Associated Press reporter Matt Lee at the briefing was asking about
the Russian TV crew working for LifeNews who were detained by the
Ukrainian Security Forces (SBU) on Sunday.
“Reportedly
they were carrying portable aircraft missiles in the trunks of their
cars at the time of their detention. So I haven't looked in your
trunk lately but it is unlikely you have those in there. That raises
some questions about these individuals and whether they were actually
journalists,”
Psaki said.
After
persistent attempts by Lee to find out whether Psaki had any proof or
credible source to back such claims, she acknowledged that these
reports were “credible”
as considered by a US “team on the ground” which is “in touch
with Ukrainian authorities.”
Reports
“about these individuals and
what they were carrying with them, certainly raises the question as
to who they are,”
Psaki answered
When
again pushed to answer whether the accusations were based on rumors,
Psaki hinted that the information comes from Kiev.
“This
is from our team on the ground who are certainly in touch with our
Ukrainian authorities,”
Psaki replied.
When
asked about the detention of an RT stringer working on the ground in
eastern Ukraine, Graham Phillips, Psaki replied that she was not
aware of “specific details”
of his arrest yet, but promised to look into that.
Psaki
said that the State Department will condemn the move of illegal
detention of journalists, however emphasizing that Washington will
first of all focus on “continuing
to press for the release of the Ukrainian and international
journalists who have been detained by Russian separatists.”
On
Sunday, two Russian LifeNews journalists, Oleg Sidyakin and Marat
Saichenko, were captured by Ukrainian troops near Kramatorsk in the
self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
Ukrainian
authorities claimed on Tuesday that the detained journalists
confessed during interrogation to entering the territory of the
country without press cards. The crew are now in Kiev but so far have
not been charged.
Previously
the OSCE urged the Kiev authorities to release the Russian
journalists saying that intimidation and obstruction of media is
“unacceptable.”
In
the meantime, RT has lost contact with the channel's contributing
journalist Graham Phillips who had earlier reported that he had been
detained by the National Guard at a check point in Mariupol, eastern
Ukraine. The British journalist Phillips
may be turned over to the Ukrainian Security Service and sent to Kiev
as well, a source told RT
The
Russian Foreign Ministry’s commissioner for human rights labeled
the harassment of journalists as the obstruction of media that
doesn’t support the coup-appointed authorities’ policy.
“This
is another step de facto made by Ukrainian authorities to curb the
activities of unwanted journalists,”
said Konstantin Dolgov. “The
journalists who work professionally and show an objective picture,
the ugly side of the outrages made by ultranationalists, the results
of [Kiev’s] punitive operation in the southeast.
In
both cases involving the RT stringer and LifeNews crew, it appears
the SBU was responsible in detaining and neutralizing reporting.
Dolgov added that Phillips’ arrest followed the “unlawful
seizure, detention of Russian journalists,”
adding that Moscow is continuing to work for their speedy release.
On
Monday, pro-Kiev activists again called to “immediately
detain and deport”
Phillips, who they believe is “cooperating
with terrorists,”
according to a message posted on EuroMaidan Kharkov's Facebook page.
The
same day, LifeNews said that journalists held captive by Ukraine's
coup-installed government were reportedly arrested after they
released footage showing a UN-marked helicopter used by Kiev’s
armed forces engaged in an operation against civilians in the east. A
few days prior to the journalists’ arrest on Sunday, the
authorities in Kiev issued an order to “find
and neutralize”
the authors of the video, a LifeNews source in SBU told the channel.
Meanwhile,
RT Arabic’s news crew who arrived in Kiev to cover the upcoming May
25 Ukrainian presidential election has not been allowed into the
country and was sent back to Moscow under the pretext that they were
unable to properly explain the purpose of their visit, despite being
accredited by the Ukrainian Central Election Commission.
Russian
journalists arrested for breaking ‘Kiev’s UN-marked helicopters’
news – report
RT,
20
May, 2014
Russian
LifeNews journalists being held captive by Ukraine's coup-installed
government were reportedly arrested after they released footage
showing a UN-marked helicopter used by Kiev’s armed forces engaged
in an operation against civilians in the east.
A
few days prior to the journalists’ arrest on Sunday, the
authorities in Kiev issued an order to “find
and neutralize”
Oleg Sidyakin and Marat Saichenko, a LifeNews source in the Ukrainian
Security Forces (SBU) told the channel.
The
order to arrest the LifeNews crew was reportedly given immediately
after the release of the channel's video of a UN-marked Mil Mi-24
strike helicopter being used by the Ukrainian army in a military
operation in the eastern regions.
“The
incident was discussed at the highest level. [SBU] was instructed to
find the authors [of the footage] and to do everything not to allow
them to work in those areas where the National Guard is deployed,”
LifeNews quoted the source as saying.
At
the time of the initial release of the footage,
which has made waves around the world, LifeNews said at least three
combat Mi-24 and one transport Mi-8 helicopters carrying UN logos
were spotted by their crew while covering Kiev’s military operation
in the Donetsk region, near Kramatorsk.
Screenshot
from a video showing a white-painted Mil Mi-24 strike helicopter
allegedly used by Kiev troops in their military operation against
Donetsk regional militia.
The
UN has demanded an explanation from Kiev as to why UN-labeled
military hardware was used in a non-authorized mission. So far the
Ukrainian side has failed to provide such details.
“It
is the responsibility of Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) that
provide Contingent Owned Equipment to peacekeeping missions to remove
all logos and signage bearing the UN's name once such equipment has
been repatriated to the home country or is no longer being used for
official UN purposes,”
the office told RT last week.
Meanwhile,
the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has
urged Kiev authorities to release
the Russian journalists.
The
detained journalists, Oleg Sidyakin and Marat Saichenko, are being
investigated on charges of “aiding
terrorist groups,”
deputy secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council
(SNBO), Victoria Sumar, wrote on her Facebook page.
Video
footage of the brutal arrest and treatment of the LifeNews crew has
been released, along with a close-up of documents, some journalistic
equipment, and a pile of Russian and Ukrainian currency alongside a
man-portable air-defense system (MANPAD) with inscriptions in Polish.
A third man shown kneeling on the ground was not identified.
The
Ukrainian Security Service said that two Russian citizens detained in
the Donetsk region with video equipment have been brought to Kiev for
interrogation.
No
connection with RT stringer after interrogation by Kiev forces
RT
contributing journalist Graham Phillips said he has been detained by
the National Guard at a check point in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine.
RT,
20
May, 2014
Following
his phone call RT lost connection with the British journalist while
UK said ready to provide assistance.
RT
has lost connection with the it’s contributing journalist Graham
Phillips who was detained at a check point in Mariupol earlier on
Tuesday.
"Our
stringer Graham Phillips was arrested at a checkpoint by people who,
according to him, when we last spoke, introduced themselves as the
National Guard and asked for his papers. After this, the connection
with the journalist was lost, we still cannot get in touch with
Graham, we are extremely worried what could happen to him. It is even
more worrying after the events, which, as we all saw happened to the
LifeNews TV correspondents”
said Alexey Kuznetsov, deputy head of RT’s English department.
@GrahamWP_UK
and his friend/cameraman/driver Misha were detained, questioned,
Misha was released, Graham is most likely taken to Kiev
“I’m
sitting at a blockade post in a portacabin. The dialogue is quite
interrogation oriented,”
Phillips earlier told RT in a phone call.
He
added that he was asked if he is a spy, while his car was searched
and his laptop confiscated. However, he noted that he is being
treated well
“At
the moment I’m with the Ukrainian forces … near Mariupol. I’ve
been here for over two hours and I’ve been described, my status, as
being detained in terms of I can’t leave. I would also say I’m
being treated OK by them. I believe that someone is coming. They’ve
done checks on my documentation. They found my reports and clips I’ve
done and they’re now looking through them asking me my position on
things, asking if I’m a spy, and asking me quite thorough
questions. They’ve checked all my documentation and photos, my
laptop and the car – so that’s who I’m with at the moment.”
He
also said he has been asked about separatism and his working
arrangement with RT.
“I’ve
been describing my position on Crimea. I did believe - and I did say
and I did state and I stand by position – that the Crimea
referendum was legitimate. I do believe referendums held here have a
legitimacy, and I had an exchange one day that I do believe the Kiev
government isn’t legal and isn’t democratic. I don’t support
this current situation in the east of Ukraine or the Donetsk
Republic, as it’s now been named. I believe the position of
President Turchinov and [PM] Yatsenyuk - not coming here to speak to
people, but using military forces to launch assaults against them -
is completely wrong.”
During
the phone conversation Phillips said he had explained to his captives
that while working for RT he “maintains
complete objectivity and neutrality as a correspondent.”
“I
present the facts as I see them and exactly as today, which is to say
they’re treating me OK. They’ve taken my bulletproof jacket and
my helmet, but on the other hand they haven’t in any way inflicted
any form of injury or any actions on my person.”
UK
Foreign Office ready to provide consular assistance
The
UK Foreign Office, upon being contacted by RT, said it is looking
into Phillip’s detention and "stand
ready to provide consular assistance."
The
British national's previous record of reporting for RT has already
backfired on him. Two weeks ago Ukrainian radicals put a bounty out
on Phillips. The Right Sector reportedly offered
$10,000 for the capture of “the
Russian spy.”
Price
on my head now set at $10,000.
On
Monday, pro-Kiev activists again called to “immediately
detain and deport”
Phillips, whom they believe is “cooperating
with terrorists,”
according to a message
posted on EuroMaidan Kharkov's Facebook page.
The
message read that Phillips “daily
works for terrorists, he photographs and publishes the location of
Ukrainian troops, spreads disinformation and Putin’s propaganda in
the media. He must be immediately detained by Ukrainian forces and
deported from Ukraine.”
The message also said that the order comes from “EuroMaidan
leaders.”
Russia
slams 'curbing activities of unwanted journalists' in Ukraine
In
Moscow, Kiev was slammed over Phillips’ detention. The Russian
Foreign Ministry’s commissioner for human rights labeled it as the
obstruction of media that doesn’t support the coup-appointed
authorities’ policy.
"This
is another step de facto made by Ukrainian authorities to curb the
activities of unwanted journalists”
said Konstantin Dolgov. “The
journalists who work professionally and show an objective picture,
the ugly side of the outrages made by ultranationalists, the results
of [Kiev’s] punitive operation in the southeast.”
Dolgov added that Phillips was detained following the “unlawful
seizure, detention of Russian journalists”
adding that Moscow is continuing to work for their speedy release.
He stressed that Kiev “continues
[to hold] its vicious line”
and has once again proved that the Ukrainian authorities are “not
going to fulfill their international obligations concerning freedom
of speech.”
The
media freedom situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate. On
Sunday, two Russian LifeNews journalists, Oleg Sidyakin and Marat
Saichenko, were captured by Ukrainian troops, presumably near
Kramatorsk in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. The
journalists were being investigated on the charges of “aiding
the terrorist groups,”
said Deputy Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense
Council (SNBO) on Monday.
The OSCE urged Kiev authorities to
release the Russian journalists saying that intimidation and
obstruction of media is “unacceptable.”
Previous
week, RT's Ruptly video journalists came under fire
from two APCs as their car was targeted near the city of Kramatorsk.
The journalists were en route to the town of Dmitrovka, some 30
kilometers from Slavyansk.
From earlier - these
Right Sector people are no joke
7
May, 2014
Ukrainian radicals flood RT stringer with death threats
Tit-for-Tat?
In
the past few hours I've seen a claim on a Twitter feed that VICE
journalist. Simon Ostrovsky has been detained
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