The information agency Rayon.in.ua announced the deportation by Poland of two of its journalists who were investigating cargo transportation on the Russian-Polish border.
This is stated on the website of the media.
Editor Yuriy Konkevych and videographer Oleksandr Pilyuk were detained on March 7, when they were recording the crossing of the border by trucks between the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation and Poland.
The policemen took two smartphones, two cameras, a personal MacBook, memory cards, microphones, power banks from the media workers, searched the car without consent. An editorial laptop, three microphones, headphones, lighting equipment and personal belongings were taken from the backpack in the car.
Rayon.in.ua adds that Polish law enforcement officers removed some recorded evidence on the spot and refused the journalistsʼ request to contact the consul, editorial staff or relatives, without explaining the reasons.
The editorial task of the journalists was to investigate the topic of cargo transportation, assess the cargo flow and find out which transport is crossing the border (Russian or Polish). There were also plans to talk to eyewitnesses and experts to assess the scale of the trade.
"Raion.Zakordon went to the north of Poland, to the border with the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation, to see how gas and grain from Russia still go through Poland to Europe. We didnʼt meet a single checkpoint of Polish farmers there, instead we saw Russian Railways wagons. The Polish police detained us and confiscated our property, did not inform the consul, did not give us the opportunity to call Ukraine, and the Internal Security Agency called us persons who threaten the national security of Poland and deported us," said journalist Yuriy Konkevych.
The reason for the detention, according to the police, was that the journalists spent a long time photographing the critical infrastructure — Russian wagons with liquefied gas.
Media Director Ihor Denysevych added that the editorial office independently started the process of appealing the deportation. Yuriy Konkevych and Oleksandr Pilyuk were banned from visiting the countries of the Schengen zone for five years.
The editors of the Rayon.in.ua appeal to the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine and the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine, both of whom sent an appeal to the Association of Polish Journalists and the International and European Federation of Journalists to protect the rights of journalists Yuriy Konkevych and Oleksandr Pilyuk.
In a comment of the Institute of Mass Information (IMI), Yuriy Konkevych added that they returned to Ukraine at night from March 9 to 10.
"The seizure of some equipment — smartphones and a camera — is documented. Most of the equipment was not with us, but in the car. Her fate is unknown. Personal belongings were returned in a few days with drivers, there was no equipment in the backpacks," he said.
According to him, the decision on deportation was made based on the prescription of the Polish Internal Security Service Agency (ABW), which says that these media persons threaten the national security of Poland. The border guards said that the justifications themselves are secret.
After the journalists were detained, they were interrogated by various Polish services. First, testimonies were collected, then there was an interrogation with a protocol.
Detention of Ukrainian journalists in Poland
At the end of February, Polish law enforcement officers detained Ukrainian Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach along with his cameraman at the Polish-Belarusian border for several hours. The media reporter filmed material about the transit of products between Poland and Russia and Belarus. According to Tkach, the police "started grabbing cameras and searching the car", took memory cards from the cameras, phones and documents, and then there was an interrogation. Neither the journalist nor the cameraman were allowed to contact anyone. The things were returned to them, but it turned out that part of the filmed material had been deleted.
Later, the Polish police stated that the alleged information about the detention of a journalist from Ukraine was false. And later she denied her statement and added that the law enforcement officers took measures to establish the identities of the people — meaning Mykhailo Tkach and his cameraman, because their presence in the border zone worried the residents.