Intimidation, a corridor of shame, interrogations, and theft of documents. How did the journalist from Luhansk region fare during the occupation, and what awaits her abusers?

In the morning, she was woken up by a call from the printing house: her colleagues said that they had not had time to print the newspaper because the city was under rocket fire. That's how Maryna Zhyvotkova, editor-in-chief of the ‘Troitske.City’ website and the ‘Sylski Novyny’ newspaper, learned about the full-scale invasion.

“I couldn't fully comprehend what was really happening, but I immediately began to inform everyone in the newsroom that we were not stopping work, but switching to a remote online mode. After all, our publication was the only source of information for people,” Zhyvotkova recalls.

Residents of Troitske met the Russian invaders with their bare hands. People went to the bridge without clothes to let the invaders know  they were not welcome here. Some people lay down under the tanks, trying to prevent the occupiers from entering the city. There were wounded people. Maryna Zhyvotkova was the only journalist who recorded this beginning of the invasion on video.

“The towns people were shouting at me: 'Film it so the whole world can see it! It was scary, I realized that Russians with machine guns could not only take my smartphone away from me, but also shoot me on the spot. But I decided that it was my professional duty to film all the events, and I would not back down.”

Troitske was under siege, it was impossible to leave. Maryna had no choice but to wait for the occupiers' visit in her own home. She recalls that she felt trapped - it was impossible to hide. She realized that she was "enemy number 1" for the Russians. Firstly, because she is a media person, and secondly, because she has a son, who serves in the Armed Forces. Soon after, people in balaclavas, armed with sledgehammers and assault rifles, came to Zhyvotkova's house to conduct a ‘search’. They took away all the gadgets and other ‘material evidence’ from the house, including her grandmother's old embroidered shirt and her son's childhood photos.

“They even seized my own diary. When they broke into my house, they turned inside out not only my things, but also my thoughts.”

As it turned out, at the same time, the invaders broke in to the editorial office. They took all the documents, equipment and new furniture from there.

At gunpoint, Zhyvotkova was taken for interrogation down the "corridor of shame", apparently to intimidate passers-by.

“No one asked why I was arrested, they just stopped silently and looked in my direction. Not a single person stood up to defend me, but at that moment I didn't care.”

The interrogation in the Russian torture chamber lasted for hours. During this time, several ‘interrogators’ changed in the room, and she was not given anything to drink or eat. The journalist was not offered cooperation and was immediately informed that she was on the "list of those who cannot be re-educated."

“Their 'investigators' were surprised that my newspaper contained interviews with representatives of the police and the Ukrainian Security Service. In their opinion, this was a direct evidence of my cooperation with him. According to their logic, I automatically became a spy.”

In addition, the occupiers found the editorial office's agreements on cooperation with international organizations and souvenir flags from the European Union. The existence of such ties was interpreted as involvement in foreign agents.

Except of professional accusations, Zhyvotkova was intimidated by information about her son, who had joined the army.

“They brought me a photo of my son in military uniform and said that they would make a video about him and me and show this masterpiece on ‘Russia-24’. They said that I was a bad mother and had not raised my child well, who was defending his own country. They threatened me that after the broadcast I would be released into the street and people would throw stones at me. I replied that they could easily kill me themselves, and my son would continue to defend the state.”

After moral pressure, Marina Zhyvotkova was released home. With the help of volunteers, the woman miraculously managed to escape from the occupied territory. To do this, she had to pass seventeen checkpoints. The journey home through Russia took more than two days.

“Those few days on the bus were like a small life. Only when I set foot on Latvian soil did I believe that I was finally safe. I realized that walls do not protect. I lost my home, I have nowhere to go back to until the city is liberated, but I have no regrets.”

In addition to her home, Maryna Zhyvotkova also lost all the legal documents and editorial seals of her LLC, which the occupiers seized when they broke into the office.

“In fact, it was a theft. The documents can be restored by reporting the loss to the police and then going to court. It can also be proved in court that the editorial office did not work during the occupation and did not pay taxes for this period,” said Oksana Maksymeniuk, media lawyer, head of the IRRP legal department.

Instead, it is extremely difficult to achieve a fair sentence for the Russians who committed crimes against the journalist. There is no law that provides support specifically for media workers - Ukrainian legislation is governed by general norms of public protection.

“We are now lobbying for each law enforcement agency - police, Ukrainian Security Service, Prosecutor General's Office - to appoint a person responsible for responding to appeals from journalists against whom war crimes have been committed. This person in uniform should regularly communicate about the investigation of cases against violations of the rights of media professionals in wartime. We are not demanding extra attention, but it is journalists who protect the rights of all citizens to access information and record war crimes. This exposes them to additional danger. That is why law enforcement officers should pay special attention to journalists,” says Serhiy Tomilenko, Chairman of the National Union of Ukrainian Journalists.

According to the National Union of Ukrainian Journalists , since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, about 200 criminal proceedings have been opened regarding violations of journalists' rights during the war. In particular, we are talking about investigations into the deaths of 58 journalists, 14 of whom were killed while performing their professional duties.

It makes no sense for media representatives to sue the aggressor country. The fact is that Russia has been expelled from the Council of Europe and does not follow its recommendations. In addition, in November 2019, the Russian Federation withdrew from the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Therefore, the UN cannot judge the Russian Federation for violations of civilian rights. That is, on the eve of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the terrorist state has played it safe and is not responsible under international norms.

“Unfortunately, in these circumstances, the only thing to do is to write a statement to the Ukrainian Security Service. Today, the most realistic thing to do is to identify the people who threatened the media representative and subjected her to moral torture. It is futile to apply to the European Court of Human Rights to bring the Russian state to justice. In general, it will be difficult to prove the guilt of the terrorist country if the crimes were committed by unofficial officials, but by ordinary bandits.  However, of course, it is worth notifying the UN Committee to Protect the Rights of Journalists. This does not guarantee satisfaction at the legal level, but it will once again remind the world community of the evil committed by Russia,” said Anatoliy Yarovoy, lawyer, senior partner at Interpol Law Firm.

The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine says that they are promoting the idea of establishing an international tribunal against Russia for crimes against journalists and inciting war propaganda.

“This should be a separate section within the punishment of war criminals. In addition to the propagandists, those who killed, persecuted, and destroyed editorial offices should be held accountable. Not only Ukrainians but also international experts should participate in the "journalistic tribunal". We are supported by the European Federation, which is headquartered in Brussels. They are documenting all violations, but so far it is all working in the mode of accumulating information,” said Serhiy Tomilenko, Chairman of the National Union of Ukrainian Journalists.

“In a situation of military conflict, responsibility does not come immediately. It can take ten, twenty years. Russia will not disappear, and will eventually return to the Council of Europe, and then it will have to be held accountable for moral and material damage, said Oksana Maksymeniuk, media lawyer, head of the IRPP legal department.

Maryna Zhyvotkova was granted asylum in the Republic of Kosovo, where she has been staying in a journalistic residence for almost a year. There she has the opportunity to continue working on materials for her website. After returning to Ukraine, Zhyvotkova plans to look for ways to bring to justice the occupiers who have been obstructing her professional activities.

The full video version of Maryna Zhivotkova's story:

International Stakeholder panel discussion featuring several project participants for public viewing on the IWPR Academy

‍

This publication was prepared under IWPR's Ukraine Voices: Protecting the Frontline project funded by UNESCO. The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this discussion and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization.

^‍

‍