Ukrainian website Myrotvorets in a controversial move has published personal data of about 5,000 journalists who were accredited by the self-proclaimed authorities in the militant-occupied areas of Donbas. In addition to the Ukrainian media employees, the list includes foreign correspondents.
According to Anastasia Stanko, the journalist and co-founder of Hromadske.tv, the website published ”phone numbers, addresses of the best journalists from around the world of all acclaimed media, who have been accredited in the ”DPR” at different times and risked their lives ”trying to tell what was happening on the other side.”
The outraged journalists issued a statement, which says that after the publication of personal data, they received ”calls and letters with threats, and some Ukrainian politicians have already called for labeling these journalists ”enemies of Ukraine” and even bannning them from work.”
”We, the journalists of Ukrainian and foreign media, and representatives of the Ukrainian and international media organizations, are deeply shocked by the actions of the Ukrainian politicians and the staff of Myrotvorets website, who published personal data of all journalists who were accredited in the self-proclaimed DPR/LPR, describing them as people `cooperating with terrorists`,” the statement says.
According to the statement, the journalists demand that Myrotvorets immediately remove personal data of journalists from free access.
”We call on the Ukrainian politicians… We also appeal to the Ukrainian authorities, law enforcement agencies of Ukraine with a demand to open criminal proceedings into the fact of violation of the Law of Ukraine on protection of personal data, as well as into pressure and threats against journalists from the list,” the journalists say.
An international scandal is brewing due to the ”leak” of personal data of journalists, according to Ukrainian journalist of Voice of America Myroslava Gongadze. She said that the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York was preparing a statement on this issue.
”Who among foreign journalists will now dare to travel to the conflict zone? It is simply outrageous,” Gongadze wrote on Facebook.
In general, personal data of 5,000 both domestic and foreign journalists have been disclosed.
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