Freedom of Speech Barometer for November 2023
In November the IMI experts recorded 11 crimes against freedom of speech in Ukraine. These were mainly cases where the Ukrainian side was responsible, and only two violations committed by Russia against the media and journalists.
This is evidenced by the monthly monitoring "Freedom of Speech Barometer" by the Institute of Mass Information.
The crimes against media committed by Russia include two instances of cyber attacks.
At the same time, the IMI recorded nine freedom of speech violations for which Ukrainian citizens are responsible. These include assault, death threats, obstruction, restricting access to public information, and cyber attacks.
In November, two media workers were killed in action while defending Ukraine from Russian occupation:
Taras Davydiuk – a soldier, founder and editor-in-chief of the Rivne outlet "Horyn.info". The soldier died on November 3 on the outskirts of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia oblast. He was 37 years old.
Oleksandr Popov – a former cameraman for "Suspilne Mykolaiv", was killed in action near Kupyansk (Kharkiv oblast) on November 22. He was defending Ukraine as part of the separate amphibious assault brigade No. 95.
Russians attacked Suspilne's satellite chanlles. Someone was trying to interfere with the work of five Suspilne satellite chanlles by jamming them and changing their content. The affected channels included "Pershiy", "Suspilne Novyny", "Suspilne Krym", "Suspilne Culture" and "Suspilne Sport", which the viewers watch through individual satellite antennas.
The head of the Suspilne Supervisory Board, Svitlana Ostapa, remarked that Russia was behind the attack. "We found that Russia is behind this. We associate this with our independent reporting and truthful coverage of the war, which the aggressor does not like very much. We managed to restore the broadcasting quickly. But in order to protect ourselves from blocking, the company is considering switching to another, more secure satellite," she said.
Russian hackers also targeted the United News telethon. The broadcast was interrupted by Russian music videos and propaganda. The Russians attacked the satellite signal. However, the specialists noticed and repelled the attack in time.
The freedom of speech violations for which Ukrainian citizens are responsible include assault, death threats, obstruction, restricting access to public information, and cyber attacks.
This month, the IMI came under pressure from propagandist, treason suspect Anatoliy Shariy. He falsely claimed on his Telegram channel that the Institute of Mass Information and its director, Oksana Romaniuk, received $70,000 from a "drug cartel". The posts appeared on Shariy's Telegram channel following the IMI's story questioning his status as a journalist. According to the IMI's sources, the propagandist wrote to multiple media organizations asking for their support, as he claimed to be persecuted due to his investigations into European drug cartels. He said that was a member of the International Federation of Journalists and that he was “shocked to have been assaulted in Europe as a journalist.”
Furthermore, the DM and the IMI reported pressure and obstruction of their journalistic work via an organized smear and blackmail campaign targeting the two organisations, that has been initiated by a group of anonymous Telegram channels including "Monaco Battalion", "Good evening, we're from Ukraine", "Joker", "Trukha" and its regional network of channels.
These Telegram channels were spreading false claims that the DM "pays in rubles" for Russian services and "funds the war." For some reason, they use a screenshot from an IMI study about fakes and manipulation by anonymous Telegram channels and garbage outlets that make money from jeansa, advertise gambling and capitalise on sensitive topics such as the risk of Russian shelling.
Later, the "Monaco Battalion" published a "poll" offering the audience to choose a way to take revenge on the DM and the IMI, and some anonymous commentators suggest liquidating these organizations, burning down their offices, etc. Still, other commentators sided with the two organizations and accused the Telegram channel of slander.
The DM and the IMI are preparing a statement to the police over with pressure and obstruction of professional journalistic work (according to Part 2 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which stipulates liability for persecuting journalists due to their reporting).
Ukrainian Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach was assaulted while filming in Kozyn, Kyiv oblast. The reporters were filming next to the restaurant where former high-ranking officials from the Attorney General's Office had been spotted. When a visitor's security noticed the filming, they started shining the high beams and blocking the journalists' cars. The Kyiv Oblast opened a case for obstruction of journalistic work (Part 2 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code).
Two media outlets, Nikcenter and Hromadske Radio, reported cyber attacks. Nikcenter said there was an attempt to hack the personal Telegram profiles of their journalists. The Hromadske Radio website suffered a large-scale DDoS attack which resulted in many users having problems accessing the hromadske.radio domain for some time.
The Ternopil City Council refused to list the officials' salaries to the journalists of the local media outlet "RIA+ / 20 Khvylyn", who had written to the City Council with a corresponding inquiry. The reason for the refusal was "preventing manipulation of public opinion and incitement to property- or social status-based unrest."
RUSSIA'S CRIMES
Cyber crimes – 2
1. Russian hackers attack the United Telethon broadcast
07.11.2023 On November 7, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Russian hackers targeted the United News telethon, reports "Detector Media", citing its own sources.
The broadcast was interrupted by Russian music videos and propaganda. The Russians attacked the satellite signal.
However, the experts noticed and repelled the attack in time.
As the IMI reported, in March 2022, Russian hackers accessed the Ukraine 24 ticker line and the Segodnya website to broadcast a fake address from President Volodymyr Zelensky about Ukraine "surrendering".
In June 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine announced that it had blocked attempts by Russian special services to hack the electronic systems of Ukrainian TV channels participating in the national telethon.
In September 2023, the "United News" team said that Russian media were spreading fake news about cuts in the livestream of President Zelensky's UN speech. In the statement published on the 1+1 website (one of the participating channels), the telethon channels said this information was misleading and called on the journalistic community and digital content creators to fight back against the Russian fake. The fake news was posted by the pro-Russian propagandist Anatoliy Shariy, who uploaded the edited video on his Telegram channel.
2. Suspilne satellite channels under hacker attack
09.11.2023 Someone is trying to interfere with the work of five Suspilne satellite chanlles by jamming them and changing their content, reports the Suspilne press office.
The affected channels are "Pershiy", "Suspilne Novyny", "Suspilne Krym", "Suspilne Culture" and "Suspilne Sport", which the viewers watch through individual satellite antennas. The digital T2 and cable broadcasts continue uninterrupted.
The attack began on November 9 at 11:07 a.m. and is still ongoing. Technicians from the relevant services are working to resolve the problem.
The head of the Suspilne Supervisory Board, Svitlana Ostapa, remarked that Russia was behind the attack.
"We found that Russia is behind this. We associate this with our independent reporting and truthful coverage of the war, which the aggressor does not like very much. We managed to restore the broadcasting quickly. But in order to protect ourselves from blocking, the company is considering switching to another, more secure satellite," she said.
As the IMI reported, the attacks on the Hromadske Radio website, which began on November 8, continued into the morning of November 9. The Hromadske Radio technicians team reports at least 160 million requests in the morning and a total of over 1.5 billion per day.
THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH SITUATION IN UKRAINE FOR WHICH UKRAINIAN CITIZENS ARE RESPONSIBLE
PHYSICAL AGGRESSION
Beatings, assault – 1
1. UP journalist Mykhailo Tkach assaulted while filming in Kyiv oblast
17.11.2023 Ukrainian Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach was assaulted while filming in Kozyn, Kyiv oblast. He reported this to the UP.
The attack took place on November 17 near the restaurant "Tandyr".
Around 11:20 p.m., the reporteers were filming next to the restaurant where former high-ranking officials from the Attorney General's Office had been spotted. There were many cars parked around the restaurant.
As the media outlet writes, when a visitor's security noticed the filming, they started shining the high beams and blocking the journalists' cars.
"I got out of the car, said that I was a journalist for 'Ukrainian Pravda'. The security guards started blocking me, and one approached me and kicked the camera, and also hit me," said Tkach.
The Kyiv Oblast opened a case for obstruction of journalistic work (Part 2 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code).
The investigation was opened based on the news discovered online. The police has received no reports of obstruction of journalistic work at this time.
However, the police found that on November 18, the media outlet's journalist visited a medical facility for tratment of the injuries he had sustained in the conflict near the restaurant.
The doctors reported this fact to the police, as is the procedure in such cases.
A pre-trial investigation has been launched; more qualifications are likely to be added to the case in the future.
As IMI reported, Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach reported SMS-bombing and mass phone calls after the publication of his story "Wartime Fast and Furious. How the capital's residents are being terrorized by street races" on September 28.
Later, Mykhailo Tkach reported facing obstruction of his journalistic work and associates it with the publication of this story.
On October 13, Mykhailo Tkach reported being hit by a car. He added that he is "not inclined" to associate this case with his professional work, but noted that the VAZ driver sped up in front of a pedestrian crossing and in front of him. The Committee for Protection of Journalists (CPJ) called on the Ukrainian authorities to investigate the persecution of the Ukrainska Pravda team and the obstruction of the work of journalist Mykhailo Tkach.
Threats, intimidation – 1
1. Shariy supporter from Rivne threatens "Chetverta Vlada" editor-in-chief
24.11.2023 Eldar Magomedov, who is affiliated with the Rivne branch of Shariy's party, texted the "Chetverta Vlada" editor-in-chief, Volodymyr Torbich, with implied death threats. The reason for the threats was a photo featuring Magomedov that Volodymyr Torbich posted on Facebook.
Volodymyr Torbich reported this on his Facebook page and shared the details with the IMI representative in Rivne oblast.
In the text messages received by Volodymyr Torbich, Magomedov mentions a photo that he believes was taken by Torbich. The photo confirms that Eldar Magomedov was present at the wake for Taras Davydiuk, a soldier and "Horyn.Info" editor-in-chief who was killed in action on November 8.
Many people in Rivne were surprised and outraged by Magomedov's presence at the wake, because Eldar Magomedov is considered one of the "Shariyites" who assaulted Taras Davydiuk in 2019 on the eve of the parliamentary elections.
As you know, in July 2019, Taras Davydiuk wrote that he was attacked by "titushkas from Shariy's Moscow vatnik party". Davydiuk received chemical burns, had to go to the hospital and filed a statement with the police, but the attackers were not found.
In his messages, Magomedov wrote that taking a picture of him from the back is a sign of cowardice. He also speaks insultingly about Volodymyr Torbich and writes to him: "You must be aware that 'the Earth is round'"; "There is a time and occasion for everything – yours is ahead." Volodymyr perceives took these words by Magomedov as implied threats.
In his comment to IMI, Volodymyr Torbich said that he had posted a photo taken by someone else in the comments to a Facebook post, because he was surprised that Eldar, known in Rivne for his affiliation with Shariy's party, participation in anti-vaxxer campaigns and other scandalous events, attended Taras Davydiuk's wake. Volodymyr remarkes that Eldar noticed the photo and started arguing with other people in the comments.
"Then I see a Facebook notification that he texted me some insults and threats. I answered briefly. After that, he again implied some threats, after which I posted it all publicly so that the people know their 'heroes,'" says Volodymyr Torbich.
"I encountered many insane people in my journalistic career. All I can is show their true face, which I do. I'm still thinking whether I should contact the police. But I know from experience that the police are usually weak in investigating crimes against journalists. So I don't know if there's any sense in wasting time on it," Volodymyr Torbich told IMI.
According to Torbich, he first encountered Eldar Magomedov in 2014, when the latter asked him to report on the alleged embezzlement of money collected at the Rivne Maidan. "In fact, everything came down to an unsubstantiated accusation, for which the defendants sued him for libel, and he lost this trial. We have written about it."
In 2016, Eldar Magomedov visited the "Chetverta Vlada" office as a cameraman for Rivne political activist Lilia Moskalyova, who slandered the "Chetverta Vlada". "Then Eldar seemed to be making excuses: "Volodya, I'm just a cameraman." So when I made a blog post about this situation, I wrote "I'm just an cameraman" on his back. And then he told me through another journalist that he was offended by this," said Volodymyr Torbich.
Obstruction to legal journalistic work – 3
1. Shariy claims that the IMI is being paid to "smear" him
04.11.2023 Anatoliy Shariy, a propagandist suspected of treason, is falsely claiming on his Telegram channel that the Institute of Mass Information and its director, Oksana Romaniuk, received $70,000 from a "drug cartel", reports "Detector Media".
Shariy writes that IMI journalists are being "sponsored" to write to media organizations and ask them "not to support him."
In his posts, the propagandist cites his own source and adds fake screenshots of Oksana Romaniuk's alleged correspondence with an unknown person about "receiving the money".
Among other things, Shariy calls Romaniuk a "functionary" and says that the German Palm Foundation, which nominated Romaniuk for the last year's Freedom of Speech Award, are "brainless German idiots, detached from reality."
In a comment to the media outlet, Oksana Romaniuk said that the posts appeared on Shariy's Telegram channel following the IMI's news story questioning his status as a journalist. According to the IMI's sources, the propagandist wrote to multiple media organizations asking for their support, as he claimed to be persecuted due to his investigations into European drug cartels. He said that was a member of the International Federation of Journalists and that he was “shocked to have been assaulted in Europe as a journalist.”
Oksana Romaniuk considers this a targeted attack on her by Shariy.
"I believe that this is a targeted attack on me which has to do with with the news piece by the Institute of Mass Information where Shariy was exposed for using a journalist's license as a cover despite not being a journalist. He is a suspect in serious criminal cases which, in our opinion, are incompatible with professional or ethical standards and responsibility. And with these posts, Shariy clearly confirmed that he has nothing to do with journalism. I think that after this situation, even those who had doubts will no longer have any questions," Romaniuk said.
The IMI team is currently deliberating on how to respond to Shariy's posts, she said.
The head of IMI added that the International Federation of Journalists has not yet replied to their inquiry about whether Shariy is really a member, so "Detector Media" also wrote to the IFJ and is waiting for a response from its representatives.
As the IMI reported, unknown persons in Spain hurled several “Molotov cocktails” at the house of the pro-Russian propagandist and treason suspect, Anatoliy Shariy, on the night of October 24, 2023. According to elDiario, the attack followed Shariy’s “investigation” into the supposed drug trafficking business in Ukraine and Europe.
Anatoliy Shariy was detained in Spain on May 4, 2022, but a Spanish court later released him under a recognizance not to leave the country. Iryna Venedictova, who was then Ukraine’s Attorney General, urged Ukrainians to refrain from emotional comments about Shariy so as not to interfere with his extradition.
In 2021, the SBU issued a suspicion notice to Anatoliy Shariy under two articles in the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Article 111 (“High treason”) and Article 161 (“Violation of citizens’ equality based on their race, nationality, religion, disability or other characteristics”). The SBU summoned Shariy for questioning on February 22 and declared him a wanted person on February 25.
On March 1, 2021, SBU submitted to the Kyiv City Attorney’s Office a request for international legal assistance and material necessary for organizing and performing investigative actions in other countries as part of Shariy’s case.
On August 21, 2021, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into effect the National Security and Defense Council's decision to impose sanctions on the Shariy couple – Anatoliy and Olha. On February 16, 2022, Zelensky expanded the sanctions targeting Shariy, which now apply to his websites as well.
On July 6, 2023, the SBU issued another suspicion notice to pro-Kremlin blogger Anatoliy Shariy, who produced staged videos for the Russian FSB of Ukrainian POWs being interrogated. He is suspected under Article 28 Part 2 and Article 111 Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed under martial law by a group of persons upon prior conspiracy).
06.11.2023 The Poltava Oblast Council session which took place on October 31 as a video call was not livestreamed, and the recording was not released to the public. The voting results could be found in the official releases by the oblast council leaders or from the deputies' comments, reports the IMI representative in Poltava oblast.
Oleksandr Nagorny, a representative of the Poltava Regional Council press office, said in a work chat with journalists that there was a recording of the press briefing after the session and provided it.
According to "Poltavshchyna", livestreams of the sessions will resume if journalists vow not to report on them during the sessions themselves. This condition, as well as the video call format itself, should contribute to the safety of deputies. This is how the chair of the Oblast Council, Oleksandr Bilenky, explained the decision to temporarily end session livestreams. The official noted that some websites had previously streamed the meetings live, and this exposed the deputies to danger during air raids.
"In the future, we will continue to provide journalists with access to the session, but under personal obligations," commented Oleksandr Bilenky.
"Poltavshchyna" editors publicly wrote: "Why would we need live text recaps of Oblast and City Council sessions at all. Almost the absolute majority of Poltava oblast has no interest in deputy meetings, people are at work or doing household chores at this time. If journalists were confectioners, locksmiths or teachers, they would be just as busy. But our fate is thus that keeping the oblast posted about the decisions of their elected officials in real time (or at least after the sessions) is our mission. In both cases, journalists need access to recordings. We hope that by the next meeting, this practice will resume and won't pose any threat to the lives of deputies."
IMI lawyer Roman Holovenko explained that the Law "On Local Self-Government" does not oblige the Council to livestream its meetings except for the cases when they take place remotely. According to the Poltava Oblast Council regulations, meetings of the Oblast Council and its standing commissions are public and open. Under martial law, sessions of the Oblast Council can be held in video call mode. The date, time, place, conditions and procedure for holding plenary Oblast Council meetings in video call mode are determined by the order of the Oblast Council chair, of which the Oblast Council deputies should be informed no later than 24 hours before it begins.
3. DM and the IMI report an organised smear and pressure campaign by anonymous Telegram channels
28.11.2023 "Detector Media" and the Institute of Mass Information report pressure and obstruction of their journalistic work via an organized smear and blackmail campaign targeting the two organisations, that has been initiated by a group of anonymous Telegram channels.
The smear campaign against the DM and the IMI started with a post by a resource featured in a revealing investigation by the Institute of Mass Information, the anonymous Telegram channel "Monaco Battalion" (over 1 million subscribers), shared through other anonymous Telegram channels, including "Good evening, we're from Ukraine" (over 0.5 million subscribers) and "Joker" (160 thousand), and also actively promoted by "Trukha" (over 2.5 million subscribers) and its regional network of Telegram channels.
These Telegram channels are spreading false claims that the DM "pays in rubles" for Russian services and "funds the war." For some reason, they use a screenshot from an IMI study about fakes and manipulation by anonymous Telegram channels and garbage outlets that make money from jeansa, advertise gambling and capitalise on sensitive topics such as the risk of Russian shelling. Later, the "Monaco Battalion" published a "poll" offering the audience to choose a way to take revenge on the DM and the IMI, and some anonymous commentators suggest liquidating these organizations, burning down their offices, etc. Still, other commentators sided with the two organizations and accused the Telegram channel of slander.
The reailty
The IMI has used the free version of the service TGStat service, which was created by Russians, as an additional (not the primary) tool for analysis. This service allows researchers to access the statistics of the largest sample of Telegram channels, as Telegram was also created by a Russian, Pavel Durov. At the same time, the IMI uses its own automated methods, collects and systematises the channels' data by way of programming. The free data from TGStat was only used to determine how the Telegram channels rank among Ukrainian users, which allows for a better analysis of the Russian disinformation spread in Ukraine primarily through those channels. The IMI has also used TGStat in their previous research, as have other disinformation watchdogs, to estimate the audience size and the engagement with the channels' content. These statistics can be accessed for free with just a login.
We remind you that Telegram has not yet been banned in Ukraine, but the security of Ukrainian users' data in this messenger app is very dubious. "Detector Media" and the IMI have repeatedly published revealing materials about the work of anonymous Telegram channels, investigations into their owners, as well as media workers' responses to the government flirting with such anonymous channels, so we perceive the widespread harassment campaign as a reaction to our criticism.
Recently, Maksym Lavrynenko, the administrator of the Telegram channel "Trukha", among others, was invited to meet Volodymyr Zelensky. In response to the indignation of the media community, the adviser to the head of the President's Office, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that the invited Telegram channel owners "are not anonymous" and assumed that they were "ready to face legal liability."
Formally, however, the owners of these channels, which have a considerably large audience, have not yet disclosed any information about themselves to the public; in particular, they have not registered their channels as online media, thus trying to avoid legal liability for spreading disinformation.
We urge our audience not to use anonymous Telegram channels to learn important information about events in Ukraine and to be aware that those channels spread fake news, rage baits and unverified information.
What we plan to do
Currently, the DM and the IMI are preparing a statement to the police over with pressure and obstruction of professional journalistic work (according to Part 2 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which stipulates liability for persecuting journalists due to their reporting).
Also, Part 1 of Art. 94 of the Civil Code of Ukraine stipulates that a legal entity has the right to the inviolability of its business reputation. If those who spread such false information with the purpose of undermining the business reputation of the DM and the IMI do not refute it on their social media pages, we will also take legal action to defend our rights.
We appeal to the President as the guarantor of the constitutional rights and freedoms under Part 1 of Article 102 of the Constitution of Ukraine with a call to take control of the investigation into pressure and intimidation against independent media outlets registered in accordance with the law.
CENSORSHIP, INFORMATION ACCESS
Access to information for journalists – 2
03.11.2023 The Ukrainian Ministry of Energy has limited access to information on international aid for the restoration of energy infrastructure facilities in Mykolaiv oblast, which were damaged by Russian shelling.
This was reported by "NikVesti".
The outlet's journalist, Yulia Boychenko, was working on an article assessing the readiness of the Mykolaiv oblast power system for possible future Russian shelling and new blackouts. She contacted the Energy Ministry, asking for data on the donors and the aid (the money, the equipment, etc.) given to Mykolaiv Oblast to provide the region with electricity since the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
The journalist also asked what percent of power grids in the oblast has been damaged by Russian shelling.
However, the response to the inquiry, signed by Deputy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, refused to provide the correspondent with the information she had requested, referring to the martial law: "...the Ministry of Energy has temporarily, for the duration of the martial law, stopped granting requests for public information concerning fuel and power infrastructure facilities, as well as strategic and operational plans on ensuring energy security, to protect the national security of our country."
"Nikvesti" editors contacted Roman Holovenko, a lawyer at the Institute of Mass Information, for a comment. He said that a significant part of the requested information may indeed be classified, but "this should be decided by an energy expert." However, he added, the Ministry of Energy's response is still problematic in terms of legality.
"This is not an acceptable refusal. It ought to have included a three-fold test for each question in the request: two of those had to explain specifically why sharing this information could be helpful to the enemy. Their intention to keep such information classified until the end of martial law is also inconsistent with the Freedom of Information Act, as it requires that the situation at the time of the request be considered. That is, hypothetically, in the future, it may be that martial law is still in place, but the Russian Federation no longer has the means to destroy our infrastructure in the rear. Moreover, it is not even listed which subcategory of classidied information this data belongs to," said Roman Holovenko.
He also added that even the resolutions of the National Commission (which regulates the energy and utilities sphere) which the Ministry of Energy cites in their refusal do not cover information inquiries, but only publishing information on websites at the initiative of administrators.
2. Ternopil City Council withholds salaries from journalists so as to avoid "property based unrest"
13.11.2023 The Ternopil City Council refused to list the officials' salaries to the journalists of the local media outlet "RIA+ / 20 Khvylyn", who had written to the City Council with a corresponding inquiry, reports the media outlet on their website.
The reason for the refusal was "preventing manipulation of public opinion and incitement to property- or social status-based unrest."
"Due to the Russian Federation's armed aggression against Ukraine and the introduction of martial law, in order to prevent manipulation of public opinion and incitement to property- or social status-based unrest, the processing of requests for public information of such content by the Ternopil City Council has been postponed. The processing of requests will be resumed after the martial law is lifted," reads the City Council's reply.
The media outlet notes that on October 6 they wrote to the City Council with an inquiry about regarding salaries, bonuses and other additional payments received by the Council's employees during the first year of the full-scale war. The City Council initially postponed the processing deadline for 20 days, which was reported to the editors. Later, they gave an answer, but the sums of salaries was never mentioned. In the response, the City Council also mentioned that processing such requests of this nature is currently suspended and "will be resumed after the martial law is lifted."
In turn, the outlet's journalists again anouther inquiry to the Ternopil City Council. At the same time, they are preparing an appeal to the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights together with a lawyer.
The outlet reminded that in October, the Ternopil Oblast Military Administration withheld salaries, bonuses and other payments to employees from them in 2022 as well.
ONLINE PRESSURE
Cyber attacks – 2
1. Nikcenter reports attempts to hack Telegram profiles of their journalists
07.11.2023 The Mykolaiv Center for Journalistic Investigations "Nikcenter" says there was an attempt to hack the personal Telegram profiles of their journalists. The outlet's editor-in-chief, Oleh Ohanov, reported this on Facebook.
"This week, someone has been trying to access the Telegram accounts of Nikcenter journalists. Today, our colleagues received SMS texts from CloudОTP with Telegram access codes, which means that someone was trying to use our phone numbers to go online. All their attempts failed, and were coming from the same IP address registered in Mykolaiv oblast," Oleh Ohanov said.
Iryna Chulivska of the Digital Journalism Laboratory commented on Oleh Ohanov's post, noting that if the media outlet files a complaint with the cyber police, the law enforcers will have the opportunity to take the journalists' phones away for investigation.
"In such a case, the police will want to take away your phones with Telegram opened 'for investigation', and, of course, none of the journalists will agree to that (and they will be right)," Iryna Chulivska wrote.
In his comment to the IMI representative in Mykolaiv oblast, Oleh Ohanov said that the outlet does not yet plan to contact the police, as it is risky.
However, the journalists are currently checking whether there has been any suspicious activity on the website recently.
"I cannot say whether it has something to do with our latest investigations. Although they did gain traction and affected the interests of many influential people," Oleh Ohanov said when asked if he thought the attack was connected with the center's latest investigations.
Note that the day before, the media outlet released an investigation about the "Mykolaivvodokanal" CEO Borys Dudenko, as well as materials about how Mykolaiv businessmen are learning to capitalize on food purchases for the army and an investigation about army fuel "disappearing" from a Mykolaiv gas station.
2. Hromadske Radio website suffers an intense DDoS attack
08.11.2023 The Hromadske Radio website suffered a large-scale DDoS attack on the morning of November 8, which resulted in many users having problems accessing the hromadske.radio domain for some time.
As reported by the Hromadske Radio technicians team, this DDoS attack had a scale of approximately 75 million requests in 30 minutes.
"Usually we have 5 million requests per day. This is including the bots, Google and everything else. This time there were 75 million requests in 30 minutes – and these are not the classic landing page clicks, but requests to access the home page hromadske.radio. Judging by the number, it's 100% they're not people, someone was trying to disable the website."
As of now, the Hromadske Radio website has been fully restored.
As reported by the IMI, Facebook took down a post about Ukrainian Bulgarians by the author of the Hromadske Radio podcast "This is About Us", Victoria Yermolayeva.
However, the attacks Hromadske Radio, which started on November 8, continuted into November 9. The Hromadske Radio technicians team reported at least 160 million requests in the morning and a total of over 1.5 billion per day.
DEFENDING FREEDOM OF SPEECH
The authorities' response to freedom of speech violations – 2
1. Poltava deputy who threatened a journalist notified of suspicion
08.11.2023 The Poltava Oblast Attorney's Office notified the deputy and District Council deputy chair, Serhiy Boyko of suspicion over death threats against the "Poltavska Khvylia" journalist, Anastasia Matsko.
Lyudmiya Ivashchuk, the representative of the Poltava Oblast Attorney's Office press service, informed the oblast representative of the IMI of this.
According to Ivashchuk, the head of the Oblast Attorney's Office signed the suspicion notice to the deputy chair of the Podilsk District Council of Poltava.
"The suspicion notice was signed under Part 1 of Article 345-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (threats or violence against a journalist. – Author's Note). It was handed over to the suspect yesterday as instructed by the boss. The measure of restraint has not been chosen yet," Lyudmyla Ivashchuk said.
As reported, Anastasia Matsko, a journalist at the online publication "Poltava Wave", has said that district council deputy, Serhiy Boyko, and the head of the welfare inspection, Maksym Malko, threatened her during the March 29 City Council session. The police opened a case for Part 2 of Article 171 ("Obstructing the legal professional work of journalists, influencing a journalist in any way with the purpose of preventing them from fulfilling their professional duties, or persecuting a journalist in connection with their legal professional work") of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Later, the journalist's lawyer, Dmytro Semekha, requested that the Poltava police reclassify the case as threats instead of obstruction. On May 29, Matsko and her lawyer filed a complaint with the Prosecutor General's Office due to the police's inaction. Two forensic examinations confirmed that the journalist received death threats, but the work of the prosecutors' remained insufficient, in her opinion.
2. Police opens a case on obstruction faced by Chornomorsk journalists
22.11.2023 The head of the news agency "Chornomorska Hromada" (Chornomorsk, Odesa oblast), Hanna Khlystun, says that the authorities were not investigating the attack on the news agency journalists.
She spoke about this at a briefing on November 2, 2023, reports "Informer".
According to Hanna Khlystun, the attack took place back in March 2022, when reporters for the news agency were investigating a UAF car supply case and discovered instnces of a car being ordered but never delivered to the front line. They asked the City Council where the car had gone.
"The City Council replied that they were aware of the situation and that the car was being repaired at the water supply company. After that, Oleh Polishchuk, assistant to Mayor Vasyl Huliayev, arranged a meeting for us, where people with guns were waiting for us, shouting that we should not interfere in their business. After that, they beat us, I received a closed brain injury, and my cameraman was beaten by eight people in balaclavas," said Hanna Khlystun.
After the attack, the journalist and cameraman, Valentyn Tkachuk, filed a statement with the police, but, according to Khlystun, the case has been "frozen".
The IMI regional representative was informed by the inquiry department of the Odesa National Police that they do have an appeal from Hanna Khlystun about the March 2022 events.
According to the authorities' reply, the case was investigated under Part 1 of Article 125 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (intentional minor bodily harm). But on October 23, 2023, the Illichivsky City Court ruled that information about the attack on the journalist was to be added into the unified register, and on October 30, the police opened a case under Article 171 (obstructing the legal professional work of journalists).
The police note that a pre-trial investigation is currently underway and the details to be proven are being identified.
The journalist community's response – 2
1. The Institute of Mass Information sues Shariy
04.11.2023 The Institute of Mass Information to sue the pro-Russian propagandist Anatoliy Shariy for defamation.
On November 3 and 4, the pro-Russian blogger and treason suspect posted false information on his Telegram channel, claiming that the Institute of Mass Information has received a prize from a drug cartel.
The posts came shortly after IMI reported that Shariy turned out to be a member of the International Federation of Journalists. The IMI asked the IFJ for a comment on this matter.
"I will not delve into Shariy's so-called 'investigation'. We are going to sue him for defamation. Our partners have assured us of their support; we have also contacted human rights organizations for legal support," said the IMI director, Oksana Romaniuk.
As the IMI reported, unknown persons in Spain hurled several “Molotov cocktails” at the house of the pro-Russian propagandist and treason suspect, Anatoliy Shariy, on the night of October 24, 2023. According to elDiario, the attack followed Shariy’s “investigation” into the supposed drug trafficking business in Ukraine and Europe.
Anatoliy Shariy was detained in Spain on May 4, 2022, but a Spanish court later released him under a recognizance not to leave the country. Iryna Venedictova, who was then Ukraine’s Attorney General, urged Ukrainians to refrain from emotional comments about Shariy so as not to interfere with his extradition.
In 2021, the SBU issued a suspicion notice to Anatoliy Shariy under two articles in the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Article 111 (“High treason”) and Article 161 (“Violation of citizens’ equality based on their race, nationality, religion, disability or other characteristics”). The SBU summoned Shariy for questioning on February 22 and declared him a wanted person on February 25.
On March 1, 2021, SBU submitted to the Kyiv City Attorney’s Office a request for international legal assistance and material necessary for organizing and performing investigative actions in other countries as part of Shariy’s case.
On August 21, 2021, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into effect the National Security and Defense Council's decision to impose sanctions on the Shariy couple – Anatoliy and Olha. On February 16, 2022, Zelensky expanded the sanctions targeting Shariy, which now apply to his websites as well.
On July 6, 2023, the SBU issued another suspicion notice to pro-Kremlin blogger Anatoliy Shariy, who produced staged videos for the Russian FSB of Ukrainian POWs being interrogated. He is suspected under Article 28 Part 2 and Article 111 Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed under martial law by a group of persons upon prior conspiracy).
2. Hromadske Radio contacts the cyber police over DDoS attacks
10.11.2023 Hromadske Radio has contacted the cyber police over the large-scale DDoS attacks it suffered on November 8–9.
These attacks resulted in meny users having issues accessing the hromadske.radio domain for some time, the editors reported.
According to the Hromadske Radio technicians, the scale of the first DDoS was approximately 75 million requests in 30 minutes.
Usually hromadske.radio has 5 million requests per day. On the morning of November 8, there were 75 million requests in 30 minutes – and these were not the classic landing page clicks, but requests to access the home page hromadske.radio. Judging by the number, it's 100% these were not real people, someone was trying to disable the website.
Later, the Hromadske Radio website was fully restored. Still, the attacks continued in the afternoon and evening of November 8 and through the morning of November 9.
On November 9, the Hromadske Radio technicians team reported at least 160 million requests in the morning and a total of over 1.5 billion per day.
In addition to the DDoS attack, the outlet's team received death threats via email and on social media, saying that the attacks would continue.
"Some people also called the Hromadske Radio studio number with threats and insults. Our sound engineer was answering them. He later reported this to the SBU, too," the statement reads.
A complaint with the cyber police has been filed; the editors are waiting for the law enforcers' response.
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