Ukrainian journalists Konkevych and Piliuk, who were filming cargo traffic on Polish-Russian border, were deported with their equipment confiscated. VIDEO
On 7 March, Polish law enforcement officers detained two journalists of the news agency ’Rayon.in.ua’, whose media representatives were investigating cargo transport on the Russian-Polish border.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to Rayon.in.ua.
As noted, editor Yuriy Konkevych and videographer Aleksandr Piliuk were detained on 7 March while recording the crossing of the border by trucks between the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Poland. As of the evening of 9 March, border guards brought the journalists to the Dorohusk-Yagodyn checkpoint.
The editorial board of Rayon.in.ua appeals to the state authorities of Ukraine and Poland to respond appropriately to this incident.
According to the editorial assignment, the journalists were to investigate the topic of freight transport, assess the cargo flow and find out whether Polish or Russian vehicles were used to cross the border. They also planned to talk to eyewitnesses and experts to assess the scale of such trade.
At approximately 01:10 p.m. local time, the journalists were detained by a group of 5-6 police officers in the town of Branjevo. They confiscated the journalists' property: two smartphones, two cameras, a personal Macbook, memory cards, microphones, power banks and even selfie sticks.
"Rayon.Zakordon travelled to the north of Poland, to the border with the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation, to see how gas and grain from Russia still go to Europe through Poland. We didn't see any checkpoints of Polish farmers there, but instead saw Russian Railways wagons. The Polish police detained us and seized our property, did not inform the consul, did not allow us to call Ukraine, and the Internal Security Agency called us persons threatening the national security of Poland and expelled us," says journalist Yuriy Konkevych.
The reason for the detention was that the journalists had been taking pictures of critical infrastructure, namely Russian liquefied gas wagons, for too long.
In addition, police officers searched the car without the consent of the journalists. An editorial laptop, three microphones, headphones, lighting equipment and other personal belongings were seized from a backpack in the car.
Police officers refused to call the consul, the editorial office and relatives without giving any reason.
"The editorial office has now begun the process of appealing the deportation, which prohibits our journalists from visiting Schengen countries for 5 years. But we are appealing to international journalistic organisations for support, because this reaction of Polish law enforcement threatens freedom of speech not only in relation to Ukrainian journalists. We also demand the return of property that is valuable and of material value. The lack of equipment largely blocks the activities of the 'Rayon.in.ua' News Agency," says Director Igor Denysevich.
The editorial board appeals to the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine and the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine to appeal to the Association of Polish Journalists and the International and European Federation of Journalists to protect the rights of journalists Yuriy Konkevych and Oleksandr Piliuk.
The editorial also encourages you to watch the material on the YouTube channel Rayon.in.ua Gas and grain from Russia are going to the EU while the border between Poland and Ukraine is blocked.
More recorded evidence, including photos and videos, were removed by Polish police officers at the place of detention.
Detention of journalist Tkach in Poland
Earlier, Ukrainska Pravda reported the detention of journalist Mykhailo Tkach and his cameraman in Poland, where they were filming a story about the transit of goods from Russia and Belarus. Tkach and his colleague were released after several hours of detention and interrogation by the special services. The editorial noted that it took the involvement of Ukrainian diplomats in Poland to resolve the situation. Afterwards, the Polish police explained that law enforcement officers wanted to identify the journalist and check the reason for his stay.
