OSCE Representative appalled by death of Russian photographer in eastern Ukraine, calls for all killings and attacks on journalists to be investigated

VIENNA, 3 September 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović said today she was appalled to learn about the death of Russian photographer Andrei Stenin, and she urged the Ukrainian authorities to investigate the circumstances of his death.

Stenin, a photographer with the state-run Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, was reported missing on 5 August while covering the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine (see //www.osce.org/fom/122534). His remains were just recently discovered near Snizhne, in the Donetsk region.

“Stenin’s death is a gruesome reminder of the ongoing and alarming situation concerning journalists’ safety in the conflict in eastern Ukraine”, Mijatović said.

The Representative has repeatedly raised the issue of attacks against members of the media in the area, including the killings of journalists Anatoliy Klyan (Russia’s Perviy Kanal) in the Donetsk region on 30 June, Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin (Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company) on 17 June near Luhansk, and Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli and his assistant Andrey Mironov on 24 May near Sloviansk.

“I call on Ukrainian authorities to investigate all killings and attacks on members of the media in Ukraine, and to do so swiftly and thoroughly”, Mijatović said.

Mijatović also reiterated the call she made together with other international rapporteurs on freedom of expression on 1 September for better international protection for members of the media (see //www.osce.org/node/123084).

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on facebook.com/osce.rfom.