Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
to Mr. Denys Monastyrskyi
Dear Mr. Minister,
On the night of August 14-15, 2021, in the center of Zhytomyr, on Peremogy Street, a brutal attack was committed on the director of the newspaper “20 Minutes Zhytomyr”, journalist Oleksandr Vasylkovskyi. Oleksandr himself connects the attack with his journalistic activities, since his publication is known for its high-profile journalistic investigations and currently there are several high-profile cases conducted by him. Currently, on this fact, criminal proceedings have been opened on the basis of the offense provided for in Art. 296 (hooliganism) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
We, the publishers of the Association of Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine, consider attacks on journalists absolutely unacceptable. Those who check, investigate and expose the truth are especially vulnerable! We call for the offenders who committed and ordered this to be found and punished.
We ask the minister to take this case under personal control in order to promptly identify the culprits.
A few years ago, Oleksandr Vasylkovskyi suffered from attackers because of his professional activities. During the Revolution of Dignity, unknown persons burned his car. The culprits were never found.
We hope that the result will be different in this case.
Sincerely
Oksana Brovko
Executive director of ANRVU
