OR SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAYS, POLICE AND PROSECUTION OFFICE PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF THE JOURNALISTS ON THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

Prehistory

In the summer edition of “Gorozhanin” newspaper №34(144) in the article “The Odd Clowns” we toldabout the disgrace, done by “”Novoye Pokoleniye” neoreligious organization hile carrying out the “Miracle Tent” action on Slava Boulevard. We remind that the “evangelists” didn’t only violate the Law about the freedom of worship and religious organizations, but also put obstacles to journalists in the coverage of the event. This means that they might have already got from six month to three years of imprisonment. According to these facts, we madewritten appeals to the law machinery. The reaction of the law machinery made us come back to this topic.

Doesn’t paper refuse ink?

A written appeal with mentioning the identity of the most active infringer (who was identified by the Patrol and Point Duty Service workers) and the number of the violated article 171 of the Criminal code (putting obstacles into the journalist’s professional activity) were sent to Zhovtnevy district office.

The answer, we received in the district office, makes us doubt if they had read the written appeal:

«Mr. Globa G.V. addressed is with an appeal, where he informs us that on the 12.08.2008 y. at about 19.00 p.m. near Slava Boulevard, 5, he had a conflict with an unidentified person. During the investigation we found out that on the 12.08.2008 y. In the tent, where the public worship was going on, the appealer and the unknown man had a verbal conflict resulting from the hostile attitude, which had suddenly appeared. (??? - Author).

During the further investigation and the conversation with the residents of the houses nearby no witnesses could be found.

It was unable to ask the workers of the church as this church was dismantled.

Taking all the mentioned into consideration and following article 97,99 of the Procedural Criminal Code of Ukraine,

DECIDED: to refuse in initiation of proceedings according to the signs of article 296 part 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (hooliganism- Author). Omelchenko S.Y., the junior lieutenant of the police, the District Police Officer of the Zhovtnevy district office.

Approve: Shevelev A.A., the lieutenant colonel of the police, acting as the head of Zhovtnevy district office».

The answer of  Zhovtnevy district prosecution office was even more mysterious and “literary”:

«Article 78 of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights (!- Author) gives everyone right on the freedom of thought, conscience and worship that gives the person right to worship his religion in public, in its doctrine, divine service, and doing religious rites.

According to article 32 of the Constitution of Ukraine no one may be meddled in his personal life. Collecting, storing, using and spreading the confidential information about the person without his approval except for the cases, provided by the law. Thus, the legislation of Ukraine guarantees the right of conducting the divine services in private, without any unauthorized persons.

Relying on this, no evidence of putting obstacles into the journalists’ professional activity by the “New Generation” religious organization can be found.

The prosecution on the case basing on article 171 will not be initiated because of the absence of corpus delicti.

Prosecutor’s assistant S.O. Yelovsky.

Prosecutor I.I. Rud»

Strange conclusions

If we translate the bureaucratic into Russian, we can find out some very simple yet very strange conclusions:

1. The mass action, held in the public accommodation (in the street), with all the posters and invitations all over the city, is actually “the private divine service without any unauthorized people”.

2. In any public accommodation, if it has been chosen by the “New Generation” and the like for the “private divine service” the Law of Ukraine “About the mass media” and article 171 of the Criminal code stops working magically.

I wonder what would be the reaction of the prosecutor’s office and police office if the marvel-makers put the “Miracle Tent” in the yard or even in the lobby of their organizations. Yes, writing such answers is really worthspending five years at the law department.

Actually, we can easily explain the local law machinery’s being blind, deaf and mute in this very case. The point is that from the very beginning article 171 has been “a dead” one. Every confirmed case of putting obstacles into mass media’s work is spoiling the image of the region in the eyes of Kiev and the image of Ukraine in the eyes of Europe, thus, every prosecutor would rather do hara-kiri than institutes the legal proceeding. Yet, it is evident that the prosecutors’ problems should not conflict with protecting the citizens’ rights and if they failed to provide the normal work of law, they should react if the law is violated. Now the Center for the human rights protection has also joined to this case and this refusal is appealed in the regional prosecutor’s office.

As a fact

An official body – the department of the internal policy of the city council answered the usual question (which the prosecutors office failed to do) that this “pleasant for the Lord” action, with praying the God was held on Slava Boulevard illegally and is a regular violation of public order. We give a quotation of the letter №638 writtenthis year on the 8th of November:

“...We inform you that according to the law “About the freedom of worship and religious organizations”, the public praying are held on the base of the local administration’s permission. The “New Generation” Christian mission never received the permission from the executive committee of the city council. Moreover, the department of the internal policy of the city council sent the appealer the letter informing about the impossibility of such an action, as this contradicts with the statement about carrying out the public actions in Dnepropetrovsk. Respectfully, the head of the department, V.D. Mikhailishin”.

In the other words, the district prosecutor’s office protects the right of some “humans” for breaking the law with its referring to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There was no fact of “carrying out the private divine service” that could not be visited by “unauthorized people”. Yet, there was a fact of administrative law violation (capturing the ground area for standing the tent and carrying out the public action) and the crime (putting obstacles in the journalist’s professional work during the public action in a public accommodation).

Meanwhile...

Dnepropetrovsk was not the only city, where the notorious miracle-makers left their traces. InNovomoskovsk papers there were some indignant articles too. But this time “New Generation” was using the favorable attitude of the local authorities and went to the court itself in order to jump down on journalists’ throats. During the trial in the regional Economic Court it became clear that “New Generation” violated the law just as in Dnepropetrovsk. “The organizers of the “Miracle Tent” went on violating the legislations of Ukraine by putting obstacles into the journalists’ work and not letting them communicate with the participants. Thus they broke article 171of the Criminal code of Ukraine. Also, when posting their adverts on the places, which are not meant for it, they violated article 152 of the Administrative code of Ukraine – violating the accomplishment of the cities” (from the answer of the director of Novomoskovsk TV and radio-broadcasting company “Meta Plus” for the action at law).

Just as in Dnepropetrovsk, during the action the members of the state bodies quickly became deaf, blind and mute. “The police responded to our appeals and to the appeal of the deputy of the city council unwillingly. Meanwhile turning the residents of Novomoskovsk into zombies went on. Then, we received a phone call from the city council asking us not to write a material about the “New Generation”. The reasoning seemed to a very noble one – not to raise inter-religious hostility” – “Vestnik Prisamarya” newspaper tells. After the members of “New Generation” understood that the court’s decision would not be favorable for them, they withdrew their claim as soon as possible and did not wait for the court’s decision.

Detection

As the organizations that seem to be called “law machinery” only due to the traditions are not going to protect the law and the citizens’ rights and the law, we should learn to do it ourselves. We ask the readers of “Gorozhanin” to help us identify and search the workers of the “New Generation” who were putting obstacles into the journalist’s work during their action in Dnepropetrovsk and whom Zhovtnevy district office staff failed to find. Their pictures, made during the action, are published in “Gorozhanin” paper. We will be grateful for any information, you give us.

And we promise to keep you informed about the details of this not very funny story.

Grigory Globa