Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry: Russian occupiers turn Crimea into information ghetto

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine calls on the international community to step up pressure on Russian authorities in order to protect journalists in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
"The international community should step up pressure on Russian authorities in order to protect journalists in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. On the World Press Freedom Day, we join the appeal of Ukrainian journalists, formerly illegally imprisoned Roman Sushchenko and Stanislav Aseev, to intensify international pressure on Russian authorities aiming to release Crimean Tatar citizen journalists Remzi Bekirov, Osman Arifmemetov, Rustem Sheikhaliyev, Nariman Memedinov, human rights activist Server Mustafayev and to dismiss the illegal charges,” reads the statement of the Ministry posted on Facebook on May 3.

As noted, the Russian occupation administration destroys the media space to cover up the real situation in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

“The Russian occupation administration has established an information ghetto from the beginning of the occupation, by systematically destroying the freedom of expression on the peninsula, harassing and imprisoning journalists and bloggers on the pretext of combating extremism or separatism, and in every way hindering their work. ZMINA. Human Rights Center and Crimean Human Rights Group have recorded over 300 violations of the rights of journalists and bloggers for six years of the occupation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol,” the statement reads.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine underscores that out of 3,000 media outlets officially operating on the peninsula until 2014, only 232 managed to re-register at the request of the occupying power.

“Some media outlets made more than three attempts to register but were rebuffed on the basis of flimsy formalities. In particular, this concerns the Crimean Tatar holding ATR TV Channel. Russia practically deprived the Crimean residents of an opportunity to hear an alternative opinion, by blocking signals of Ukrainian radio stations and access to online media outlets,” the Ministry notes.

In addition, the statement highlights that the Russian propaganda outlets not only seized the media space of Crimea but also disseminate intolerance speech, portraying Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars as an enemy.

"We call on the international community to take decisive action against the annihilation of freedom of expression and gross violations of human rights in the temporarily occupied Crimea by the Russian Federation. We express our full support to journalists, bloggers and all those who, despite the repression, are not afraid to publicly express their civic position," Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasizes.