"Shameful violence committed by radicals against transgender & LGBTI community in Ukraine. Also deeply troubled that a Canadian journalist was attacked. We join Ukraine's government in condemning this violence," Freeland wrote on Twitter.
Media reported that the march in Kiev had been disrupted by radicals, who allegedly used pepper spray and smoke bombs to attack the activists. The Committee to Protect Journalists for Europe and Central Asia said on Monday via its Twitter feed that the reporter, Michael Colborne, had been punched in the face. The journalist, in turn, shared a photo of a man whom he accused of trying to pepper spray him on that day.
Please share: the gentleman on the left here, with the black baseball hat, is the man who tried to pepperspray me at exactly 12:39pm on Sunday, November 18 at the crosswalk across Taras Shevchenko and Leontovycha (https://t.co/RG3reKqRq7). #transmarchukraine #трансмарш2018 pic.twitter.com/cHveAyk31k
— Michael Colborne (@ColborneMichael) 19 ноября 2018 г.
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The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, Kateryna Zelenko, has commented on the situation, saying that an investigation into the case had already been launched, adding that it was unacceptable to attack journalists or manifest intolerance and violence in any way.
