20 August 2019, Tuesday, 20:47 180

112 Ukraine TV Channel Says Under Pressure From Bohdan, Asks Council Of Europe For Protection

Editor: Daria Zubkova

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The 112 Ukraine television channel is under pressure from the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrii Bohdan, and it is asking the Council of Europe for protection.

The television channel announced this in a statement on its website, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

In addition, 112 Ukraine is requesting protection from the European Parliament and the International Editorial Council.

Representatives of the television channel also demanded that the authorities stop exerting pressure on the channel and expressed concern about President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s position on the issue.

"Your predecessors who fought against dissent were politically punished for their actions. Do not follow their path. Fight poverty and not television channels that are undesirable. Stand up for freedom of speech," the representatives said, appealing to Zelenskyy.

The 112 Ukraine television channel is concerned about reports that Bohdan intends to establish control over the television channel by organizing its seizure by the Security Service of Ukraine and subsequently transferring it to the National Agency for Identifying, Tracing, and Managing Assets Linked to Corruption and other Crimes (the Asset Recovery Agency).

According to the television channel’s legal department, such a plan would be illegal and its implementation would indicate an absence of the rule of law in Ukraine and the beginning of authoritarianism and dictatorship in the country.

According to the statement, Bohdan has met with the judges considering the relevant case, and the television channel could be forced to stop broadcasting after the judges’ decision.

Representatives of the television channel also emphasized that the Ukrainian authorities have still not responded to the attack on the television channel’s office building with a grenade launcher.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, a court has ordered a forensic assessment to determine the amount of damage inflicted on the 112 Ukraine television channel as a result of the shelling its office building with a grenade launcher.