Parishioners of a Moscow church attacked a videographer: the police of Cherkasy region opened criminal proceedings

Parishioners of the Holy Presentation Parish of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) in Cherkasy Region attacked the video operator from the local publication "18000," Maxim Tkachenko, and damaged the journalist's equipment. In response to the obstruction of journalistic activities, law enforcement authorities have initiated a criminal investigation.

This information was reported on the Cherkasy Region Police website on July 1.

On June 29, a representative of the media filed a complaint with the police regarding obstacles to the lawful professional activities of journalists. The complainant reported that an unknown individual struck his fingers and damaged the operator's equipment during the filming of a segment in Cherkasy.

Local media outlets described the situation that occurred on June 29. The incident occurred after a community meeting where the parish decided unanimously to switch from the UOC-MP to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). However, a group of parishioners who support the UOC-MP locked themselves inside the church's compound and refused to admit the public and journalists.

During the filming, I approached the church, and parishioners did not allow anyone inside, nor did they allow anyone to leave. Therefore, I initially had to film over the fence, which was inconvenient. I decided to try filming from under the gate. When I switched to a different mode, someone kicked my hand and the camera. After that, the microphone detached. It still works, but it is damaged. I didn't see who did it. Initially, they took the microphone onto the premises, but after I mentioned that I would file a complaint with the police, they threw it back out from behind the gate. - Maxim Tkachenko.

The editorial team reported the incident to the police, citing obstruction of journalistic activities. Investigators have initiated a criminal investigation under Part 1 of Article 171 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code, which concerns obstruction of the lawful professional activities of journalists. The sanctions of this article provide for a penalty of up to three years of restriction of freedom.