Statement from the Kharkiv journalist community
21.02.2007
Kharkiv journalists express their indignation over the recent withdrawal of accreditation of one of their colleagues for what the Kharkiv City Council has decided was “unverified information and a slanted approach”
On 19 February 2007 an official letter from the press service of the Kharkiv City Council was placed on the latter’s website. It said that the Council was revoking the accreditation of journalist from “Komersant – Ukraina” Maria Spalek “in accordance with the Regulations on accreditation of media representatives by the Kharkiv City Council”. The grounds named were “unverified information and a slanted approach”.
As Kharkiv journalists, we wish to express our protest against the revoking of Maria Spalek’s accreditation and consider such actions to reflect a dangerous tendency to limit the rights of journalists, their freedom to carry out their professional activities and a threat to the principles of freedom of speech.
We demand that the press service reinstate our colleague’s accreditation.
The statement is signed by 20 journalists representing national media outlets (and Prava Ludyny!), as well as the head of the Kharkiv branch of the National Union of Journalists.