Kiev’s blacklisting journalists threatens freedom of press — Reporters Without Borders
Russian journalists from TASS, RIA Novosti, Izvestiya and Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspapers, RUPTLY news agency, NTV television company and Channel One were included in the sanctions list
BERLIN, September 17. /TASS/. Reporters Without Borders on Thursday condemned Kiev’s move to place journalists on Ukraine’s sanctions list, the international rights organization said in a press release obtained by TASS.
"We are appalled by this ban, which represents an absurd, counter-productive breach of freedom of information," Reporters Without Borders said in its statement.
On Wednesday, September 16, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree to extend the list of sanctions against Russia. It comprised 105 legal entities and 388 individuals, including a number of media employees.
Employees of TASS, RIA Novosti, RUPTLY news agencies, Izvestiya and Rossiyskaya Gazeta publications, Vzglyad.ru, NTV, Channel 1, director general of the Rossiya Segodnya news agency Dmitry Kiselyov found themselves under sanctions.
TASS employees on the list include Washington correspondent Andrey Shitov, head of the agency’s bureau in South Africa Alexander Nechayev and TASS European countries department employee Andrey Surzhansky.
All blacklisted persons are banned from entering Ukraine and their assets in the country are frozen.