MOSCOW, September 3 (RIA Novosti) - Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for a thorough and full investigation into the death of Rossiya Segodnya photojournalist Andrei Stenin, Yulia Gorbunova, a researcher in the organization’s Europe and Central Asia Division, said Wednesday.
“This is a tragedy of monumental proportions. We, on our part, are calling for a thorough and full investigation into all the circumstances surrounding the death of Andrei and other journalists, who have died in Ukraine since the beginning of this conflict. Safety of journalists in Ukraine is still of great concern to us since journalists‘ rights, journalists' ability to cover the conflict continue to be violated,” Gorbunova said.
Reporters are being detained both by self-defense forces and Kiev authorities.
“[Journalists] are subjected to violence; they are not able to do their job. Attacks, detentions, violence against journalists must be stopped immediately,” the HRW researcher added.
Gorbunova also expressed her condolences on Stenin’s death.
Earlier on Wednesday, Dmitry Kiselev, the Director General of the International Information News Agency Rossiya Segodnya, said that Russian investigators confirmed that Stenin died near the city of Donetsk a month ago.
The photojournalist was in a vehicle, traveling in a convoy of at least 10 vehicles carrying civilians and guarded by several members of self-defense forces, when it came under heavy fire from the Ukrainian military.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked Kiev to carry out a thorough investigation into Stenin's murder, the fourth Russian journalist killed in eastern Ukraine in recent months.
President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and other senior Russian politicians have expressed their condolences.
The Ukrainian Security Service have claimed that its officers were not involved in the incident.
