KIEV, May 24. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Mirotvorets (Peacekeeper) website that has resumed operation despite protests of the international journalistic community published on Tuesday a new list of mass media representatives who have received accreditation in the self-proclaimed republics in Donbass.
The list has data on almost 300 journalists, including full information on their residence, phone numbers and e-mail addresses. The majority of these people work for foreign mass media outlets. These are journalists from 59 countries, including Austria, Germany, Georgia, Brazil and Iraq. No Russian journalists have been included in the list this time.
On May 10, the Kiev-based website leaked information on almost 5,000 journalists from around the world accredited by Donbass who work for TASS, the BBC, Reuters, France Press, CNN, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, AP, newspapers and other mass media outlets. The portal accused the journalists of complicity to terrorist organizations.
The leak caused enormous public outcry. The US Department of State reminded that the working conditions for journalists in the conflict zones are extreme. Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the publication as the abuse of declared freedoms in favor of political ambitions. OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic also expressed deep concerns over the leak. The European Union demanded to remove the list.
The Kiev prosecutors later launched investigation into impeding professional activity of journalists and the website announced that it was shutting down amid criticism of its activity from Ukraine’s authorities and the West.
The website is a project of Ukrainian MP and advisor to Ukrainian interior minister Anton Gerashchenko. He said earlier this week that the website would resume its work despite the protests of the public.