Administration of a penitentiary in the Khmelnitskiy region impeded work of journalist and human rights protector

On 15 February Eduard Bagirov, the chairman of the board of the international public organizations “International League for protection of rights of citizens of Ukraine”, and Vladimir Shirochenko, a journalist of the newspaper “Pravda Ukrainy”, were not admitted to Shepetovska reforming colony No. 98, situated in the Khmelnitskiy region. In spite of the fact that the journalist and human rights protector had the official permission of Aleksandr Ptashinskiy, the acting head of the Department of penitentiaries of Ukraine, they were not let in by the order of the head of regional penitentiary department.

Representatives of the human rights protecting organization informed that the visit to the colony had been connected with investigation of the facts of mass falsification of the results of Presidential election in colony No. 98, described in the collective letter of the convicts.

“Head of the Khmelnitskiy regional penitentiary department Yakimchuk exceeded his service authorities, as well as the norms of Articles 170 (impediment to legal activities of public organizations) and 171 (impediment to legal professional activities of journalists) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, Article 26 (rights of journalists) of the Law “On printed mass media (the press) of Ukraine” and Articles 5 and 6 of the Law “On information””, -- reads the message.

In this connection E. Bagirov turned to acting head of the Department A. Ptashinskiy with the demand to carry out service investigation and, if the violations of the operating laws would be confirmed, to dismiss T. Yakimchuk from his post. The appeal with the same demand was also directed to the prosecutor of the Khmelnitskiy region.

“Unfortunately, even now, under the new power, there are some officials, who continue to use the methods of Kuchma’s regime, which becomes apparent in impediment to professional activities of journalists and human rights protectors”, remarks E. Bagirov.