Myrotvorets OSINT website back to work, updates list of DPR-accredited media

The Ukrainian Myrotvorets (Peacekeeper) OSINT website, which found itself in hot water over the publication of personal data of journalists accredited by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People`s Republic (DPR), is available again after a break and has published an updated press accreditation list for 2014-2016.
What is more, the volunteers who maintain the website ”offered their apologies” that the version of the previously published list was not the latest and was incomplete.
”On May 12, 2016, the Myrotvorets website published a list of journalists accredited by the Donetsk People`s Republic (DPR) terrorist organization. After the publication, we saw public interest and debate around the published list. Many journalists demanded an apology from us and we finally realized the reason. That is why the center sincerely apologizes because the list really was not that fresh,” the report says.
Myrotvorets says that the previously published list was obtained from the so-called DPR`s Information Minister Elena Nikitina (Pushilina) in December 2015, but an updated list, prepared by her deputy (the website does not disclose his or her name ”for secrecy reasons”) was dated February 2016.
According to Myrotvorets, the information about the DPR-accredited journalists is published in accordance with Article 17 of the Constitution of Ukraine, according to which the protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, ensuring its economic and informational security are the most important functions of the state. This publication is also in line with Article 29 of the law of Ukraine ”On Information” (”Dissemination of socially necessary information”). Under the article, classified information could be made public if it is a subject of public interest and reveals a threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and ensures constitutional rights, freedoms and duties.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Myrotvorets in a controversial move published personal data of about 5,000 journalists who were accredited by the self-proclaimed authorities in the militant-occupied areas of Donbas. Along with Ukrainian media employees, the list included foreign correspondents, journalists, photographers.
The data leak was heavily criticized by members of the Ukrainian press, some officials from the Information Policy Ministry, Ukrainian politicians, namely parliament`s human rights commissioner Valeriya Lutkovskaya, as well as by EU and OSCE officials.
At the same time, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov condemned the journalists who received press accreditation in the self-proclaimed republics.
The website announced then it would close down, but a week later it said it would resume work.

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