“Stop Censorship” protests over dismissal of journalist for publishing information about media owner

The movement “Stop Censorship” has issued an official statement over the motive, in their view, unacceptable, for dismissing correspondent to the newspaper “Segodnya” [“Today”], Oleksandr Chaplenko

“According to the explanation given by the journalist himself, the main reason for his dismissal was that he publicly stated on TV Channel Inter that Rinat Akhmetov is the owner of “Segodnya” and that that, in the opinion of the editor, can have an impact on trust in the publication. The editorial office did not in any way refute the information, but instead resorted to repressive measures against the correspondent.

Despite the overtly unfriendly attitude showed by Oleksandr Chaplenko to the movement “Stop Censorship”, we consider that the given case involves a fundamental principle of democracy – transparency of information about media ownership.

We also stress that it is unacceptable to dismiss a journalist for publishing facts which have public importance this being equivalent to censorship.”

The movement “Stop Censorship” was created on 21 May 2010. It is an informal association of journalists formed in response to encroachments on freedom of speech in Ukraine. It has no political ties or agenda.