Ukrainian Journal

 

KIEV, June 14, 2010 – An accredited television journalist was brutally attacked and thrown to the ground by a guard of President Viktor Yanukovych on Tuesday while covering an agriculture equipment show in Kiev region.

The attack against Serhiy Andrushko, an STB television reporter, was filmed by another television crew and was made available on YouTube.

There have been several cases of police brutality against journalists since the election of Yanukovych in February, but the latest attack goes far beyond in its cruelty, triggering serious concerns.

“We were covering the speech by the president. When the speech was over, the president went to see agriculture equipment. My cameraman followed them,” Adrushko said.

“I got a little bit late because I had to fold equipment and get the cables,” Andrushko said. “I was stopped by an unidentified man. He twisted my arm and threw me to the ground.”

The YouTube video shows that another guard has been ordering all other television crews and photo correspondents in the area to immediately stop filming the incident.

The development highlights obsession with high level of security by the Yanukovych administration that some say even borders with paranoia. Downtown Kiev traffic is frequently blocked when the president roams in the city.

A taxi driver in Kiev was killed by a speeding vehicle from the Yanukovych cortege in April when the president had been hurrying to the airport.

The number of guard personnel protecting Yanukovych has doubled compared with the number of personnel protecting his predecessor Viktor Yushchenko.

But the attack against the journalist with an accreditation and a special badge issued by the presidential administration goes beyond any reasonable security measures.

Valeriy Khoroshkovskiy, the chief of the SBU security service, asked to comment on the incident, quickly defended the guard.

“The guard has clear rules,” Khoroshkovskiy said Tuesday. “He is guarding a protected object and is regulated by a different law.”

Meanwhile, the State Guard Department on Tuesday issued a statement calling the incident “misunderstanding” between the journalist and the guard.

“We apologize for the unjustified use of force,” the statement said, adding that the department will investigate the case to prevent such things in the future. (tl/ez)