KIEV, December 4. /TASS /. Journalists working in Ukraine are a vulnerable group, and cases of assaults against them are not being investigated effectively, the Journalist's Union of Ukraine (JUU) reported on Monday.
"In accordance with the monitoring of the Physical Security Index of Journalists of Ukraine, which the Union conducts jointly with partner organizations, there have been 85 cases of physical violence since the beginning of the year [11 months]," the Union noted, adding that just in November, five journalists in the country have been beaten up.
According to the union’s chairman Sergey Tomilenko, among those specifically in peril are investigative journalists.
"When raising sensitive topics for politicians, officials or businessmen, our colleagues are subjected to physical aggression. At the same time, not only are law enforcement officers not effectively punishing the attackers, but they themselves set the tone for the brutal responses towards the professional work of journalists," said Tomilenko.
Earlier, Johannes Hahn, commissioner of the European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations raised concerns over the safety of Ukrainian journalists, adding that it is necessary to investigate these cases, as a prerequisite for democracy.