Poroshenko Should Remove Journalists From Kiev Blacklist

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, called on Kiev on Thursday to remove journalists from Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s new sanction decree affecting over 400 individuals.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to Mijatovic, authorities must facilitate the work of journalists, not create administrative obstacles to their access.

"I fully respect governments’ legitimate right to fight terrorism and to protect their national security and their citizens. But introducing over-broad restrictions that curb free movement of journalists is not the way to ensure security," Mijatovic said, quoted in an OSCE press release.

"I call on President Poroshenko to amend his decree and exclude journalists from it," Mijatovic urged.

Poroshenko signed a decree on Wednesday sanctioning 90 entities and barring over 400 people, including several high-ranking individuals and journalists, from entering Ukraine for one year. The Ukrainian president said sanctions were a contribution to his country’s defense amid the ongoing conflict in the southeast.

More than 40 journalists and bloggers from countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Israel, Latvia and Russia, were targeted by the new restrictions.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) slammed the decree, saying it blocked vital news and information about the crisis in the country, while the German Journalists Association called it an attack on freedom of the press.