In Kiev, the journalist of Hromadske Maxim Kotsyubynsky got to the police department after publishing information about an undeclared apartment used by the Minister of Justice of Ukraine Olga Stefanishin.
The incident happened a few hours after the shoot. According to Kotsyubynsky, he was in the center of the capital, when a police officer approached him and asked for documents as if within the framework of a "survey of citizens". Soon other law enforcement officers joined him, conducted a surface inspection, after which the journalist was sent to the district department to the slit.
Despite the fact that Kotsyubynsky immediately reported that he was a journalist and presented a certificate, police stated that he was acting at the request of a passerby, who reported "suspicious shooting of strategic objects".
In the department, police officers demanded that the journalist grant permission to inspect the phone. After refusing and waiting for a lawyer, law enforcement officers began to hint that they could remove the phone indefinitely. At the same time, according to the journalist, he was limited to movement, although he was not considered formally detained.
In the evening, police released an official version of the events: an unknown citizen had reported Kotsyubynsky's suspicious activity, after which the patrolmen asked him to show documents and found out in the department that he was a journalist. After that he was released.
This incident happened against the background of a journalistic investigation. On July 2, Hromadske released material about an apartment of 100 m² in Lviv Square LCD, which is used by Justice Minister Olga Stefanyshyn. In the Minister's Declaration, this real estate does not appear, although according to journalists, the apartment belongs to her mother. Stephanishina herself confirmed that she was temporarily living in this apartment and promised to indicate it in the next declaration.
The fact of detention of the journalist after such a revelation caused resonance in the media. Media representatives urge law enforcement agencies to stop pressure on journalists and remind: investigation of public persons is not a crime, but work in the interests of society.
