RT contributor Graham Philips and two Russian LifeNews journalists must be immediately set free by the Ukrainian authorities, Rachel Denber from Human Rights Watch told RT, adding that if there are any actual charges against them – they must be pressed.
Russian LifeNews journalists, Oleg Sidyakin and Marat Saichenko,
were detained on Sunday soon after they released a scandalous
video, which showed a UN-marked helicopter being used by the
Ukrainian army in a military operation in the eastern regions.
Two days later, RT’s contributing journalist, Graham Phillips,
was arrested at a checkpoint in the city of Mariupol.
The British citizen was reportedly interrogated by the Ukrainian
Security Service (the SBU) for “filming facilities, which are
forbidden from being filmed.”
HWR’s Rachel Denber says the fate of the detainees is raising
serious concerns as they’re being deprived of the means of
communication and the SBU is refusing to make any comments.
Journalists from various Russian media outlets were also recently
denied from entering Ukraine, including Zvezda, NTV, Channel One
and TVC channels as well as RT Arabic’s news crew.
RT:Human Rights Watch has called for the
journalists to be released. Has there been any response from
Kiev?
Rachel Denber: We haven’t heard any response from Kiev.
I’ve spent most of the day today trying to call the SBU to get
confirmation about their status, their whereabouts and their
legal status. I wasn’t able to get through to the SBU.
RT:Are you worried about them?
RD: Yes, I think that anytime that journalists
are detained – are in custody – and there’s no specific
information about their whereabouts, no access to them for their
lawyers or in the case of Graham Phillips – to the consular
services, the British Consulate; and in the case of Sidyakin and
Saichenko – to the Russian Consulate – there always cause for
concern. We’re worried about their treatment. We’re worried about
their status. We believe that they should be immediately
released. If there are specific, concrete, legal accusations
against them let those charges be known. But, meanwhile, they
should be released pending any investigation – if there indeed
needs to be an investigation.
RT:Given the situation with journalists
working in Ukraine now, do you believe the coverage of the
upcoming Presidential election can be fair and balanced?
RD: There needs to be freedom of expression. The
freedom of expression is one of the main…one of the key pillars
for a fair vote. I think that it’s important to look at the
broader media picture in Ukraine to make that assessment. You
need to look whether there’s all different kinds of news
reflected in the Ukrainian media; on Ukrainian television – in
order to make that assessment.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.