(IMI/IFEX) – The following is a statement from IMI, an interim member of IFEX: On 18 February 2007, Andriy Shynkarenko, head of the news desk on the television station 9th Channel, was violently beaten while out in the street, reports the news agency UNIAN. Shynkarenko’s assailants told him that 9th Channel had to stop covering […]
(IMI/IFEX) – The following is a statement from IMI, an interim member of IFEX:
On 18 February 2007, Andriy Shynkarenko, head of the news desk on the television station 9th Channel, was violently beaten while out in the street, reports the news agency UNIAN.
Shynkarenko’s assailants told him that 9th Channel had to stop covering the conflict between the new director and the trade union of Channel 51.
The station has found itself under pressure after covering the row at Channel 51, which began after the appointment of the new acting director, Viktoria Shylova. Shylova, a member of the Hromada party to which former prime minister Lazarenko belongs, is the deputy of the regional council.
“This incident is linked to Shynkarenko’s professional activity,” the press officer of 9th Channel said, adding that Shylova’s husband was among the assailants.
The press officer also said that the officials supposedly investigating the incident have been inactive and are trying to present the whole incident as a common scuffle.
