FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 20, 2014
CUSIB Offers Support For RFE/RL Ukranian ServicesJournalists Beaten By Police
The Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB – cusib.org) is outraged by reports that Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty  (RFE/RL)Ukrainian Service journalists, Dmytro Barkar and Igor Iskhakov, were beaten and detained by police while covering clashes in Kiev on January 20, 2014.  Anti-government protests drew 200,000 protesters who opposed government measures recently signed into law that greatly reduced basic freedoms of speech and assembly in Ukraine.
In a statement, CUSIB said: “It is apparent that government forces in Kiev and other Ukranian cities are trying to isolate and demoralize protesters through widespread violence against journalists. If the police are able to successfully threaten the safety of journalists to the point where only very few continue to report news about the protests, then further repressions of street demonstration can proceed with  impunity. This tactic is being used  by the police and government leaders to do whatever they want to protesters without any accountability to the people of Ukraine.
We are confident that RFE/RL reporter Dmytro Barkar and cameraman Igor Iskhakov and their colleagues in the media will continue to report the news in defiance of anti-democratic laws and we offer them our full support. ”
A video by RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Services of correspondent Dmytro Barkar and cameraman Ihor Iskhakov’s description of the events can be seen HERE.
For further information, please contact:
Ann Noonan, co-founder and Executive Director
Tel. 646-251-6069
Ted Lipien, co-founder and Director
Tel. 415-793-1642
The Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB – cusib.org) is a nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization working to strengthen free flow of uncensored news from the United States to countries with restricted and developing media environments. CUSIB supports journalism in defense of media freedom and human rights by the Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia (RFA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio and TV Marti, Radio Sawa, Alhurra TV and other U.S. taxpayer-funded media programs for international audiences produced by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). We are working to make these programs more effective and better managed. CUSIB also advocates for better working conditions for broadcasters and other media professionals delivering news to countries without media freedom and defends their journalistic independence.