THE International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned the Ukrainian government’s ongoing crackdown
on independent news media yesterday.

In a letter to the Kiev regime, the IFJ protested at the government’s treatment of independent television channel 3S.TV and its founder Savik Shuster.

The station was set up last year after Shuster Live, one of Ukraine’s leading current affairs programmes, was effectively banned from virtually all networks and, in one case, pulled from air just 10 minutes before broadcast, the federation said.

It said 3S.TV, which is funded by donations from small businesses and civil society organisations, had been subjected to persecution after broadcasting a feature on the State Tax Service of Ukraine.

As part of what the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) called a “fabricated criminal case,” Mr Shuster and his company were subjected to unscheduled tax inspections and his right to work was withdrawn — a decision that the courts subsequently overturned.

NUJU first secretary Sergiy Tomilenko welcomed the courts’ decision, saying: “Despite all the criticism, the Savik Shuster platform is the number one political talk show, which gathers pro-government and opposition politicians.”

IFJ president Philippe Leruth said: “This case is a flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of freedom of speech and independent journalism.

“Having failed to censor the station and force it off air, the opponents of free speech have now resorted to fabricated tax cases to attempt to silence criticism.”

The office of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights reported yesterday that Kiev’s far-right militias and anti-fascist forces fighting in the eastern Donbass region were carrying out summary executions with “impunity.”