Masked Gunmen Seize Crimean Investigative Journalism Center
As Russian troops streamed into Crimea, Ukraine, yesterday, masked gunmen broke into and seized the office of the Crimean Center for Investigative Journalism in the region’s capital, Simferopol. The group of about 30 men, dressed in military fatigues, targeted offices housing the Information and Press Center Crimea1, a hub for independent media in the region, and the Crimean investigative center.
After breaking a window and forcing their way through the front door, militia leader Konstantin Knyrik announced that the offices would now house "The Crimean Front,” because from “this building does not come true information."
"We do not need to escalate this," Knyrik told the journalists, according to the Crimean investigative center’s website. "All employees can come to work. We promise them, if their sponsors refuse to pay the salary, we will find them entrepreneurs. We will try to agree on the correct truthful coverage of events.”
The journalists managed to leave with “part” of their files and equipment, reported the website. Oleg Khomenok, an investigative journalism trainer based in Kiev, adds that the staff is safe and is continuing to post news on their website.
The seizure of the media offices comes on top of growing hostility to news media in Crimea. An armed group of 20 men has surrounded the national TV and radio network Krym in Simferopol, and journalists report being harassed at armed checkpoints. “I am deeply concerned about the media freedom situation in Simferopol and the Crimean peninsula as a whole, following the current political developments in Ukraine,” said Dunja Mijatović, the Representative on Freedom of the Media for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). “Safety of media workers must be ensured at all times and their work must be respected.”
Pictures and video at link:
http://gijn.org/2014/03/02/masked-gunmen-seize-crimean-investigative-journalism-center/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Oh my! I'm shocked! 
