WASHINGTON, June 18 (RIA Novosti), Lyudmila Chernova - Human Rights Watch is calling on both sides of the Ukrainian conflict – government forces and independence supporters – to respect international law while conducting their operations, Rachel Denber, Deputy Director of the organization’s division on Europe and Central Asia told RIA Novosti Tuesday.
“First, our hearts go out to the families and colleagues of Anton Voloshin and Igor Kornelyuk,” Denber said, referring to the journalists of Russian state-owned VGTRK media holding that were killed in a mortar attack near Ukrainian city of Luhansk Tuesday.
“All parties in their operation must take all necessary steps to minimize harm to civilians, including by avoiding deploying their forces in densely populated areas. Attacks should avoid or minimize incidental loss of civilian life,” Denber underlined.
Yulia Gorbunova, researcher in Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division, also expressed deep concerns over the media security situation in Ukraine and urged country’s authorities to punish those responsible for the deadly attack on Russian reporters.
“This is a tragedy that must be immediately and fully investigated by the Ukrainian authorities. The government should do more to avoid harming civilians during law enforcement operations. We are also very concerned with continuous violations of media freedom in Ukraine. Both sides of this conflict must stop harassing journalists and preventing them from doing their job,” Gorbunova said.
As result of a mortar attack near Ukrainian city of Luhansk Tuesday, VGTRK sound engineer Anton Voloshin was killed at the scene by a direct hit of a mortar round, while reporter Igor Kornelyuk was fatally wounded and died in a local hospital. Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko ordered an investigation into the deadly attack on journalists.
