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US embassy in Ukraine calls on Kiev to investigate crimes against journalists

On November 2, the international community marks the Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists

KIEV, November 2. /TASS/. The US embassy in Ukraine has called on the Ukrainian authorities to thoroughly investigate crimes against journalists in that country.

"On the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, we remember and honor Georgiy Gongadze, Pavel Sheremet, and other courageous journalists who have yet to receive justice. Crimes against journalists must be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted," the embassy wrote on its Twitter account.

According to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office, as many as 135 criminal cases were initiated in 2015 following attacks on journalists. The number of such criminal cases increased by 60% in 2016 and reached 222, and by 30% more in 2017, to amount to 284. Since the beginning of 2018, as many as 56 attacks on Ukrainian journalists have been reported.

The most notorious cases include the murder of journalists Georgy Gongadze and Pavel Sheremen in 2000 and 2016, respectively, and the assassination of Ukrainian writer and journalist Oles Buzina in 2015.

November 2 is the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, which was established in 2013 by a United Nations General Assembly resolution, which condemns any attacks and acts of violence against journalists.