Ukrainian-born journalist and RFE/RL contributor Mykola Semena explains to Ron Synovitz why he kept working in Crimea after the territory was annexed by Russia in 2014 -- and why he has risked his personal freedom in order to defend free speech and freedom of the press there.
Crimean Journalist Risks Jail By Refusing To Follow Kremlin Line
In February 2014, when masked Russian troops without insignia seized control of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, Simferopol-based journalist Mykola Semena grabbed his camera to photograph the invasion that was being denied by the Kremlin.
Weeks later, after Moscow's disputed annexation of the territory, Semena made a fateful decision.
Aged 63 at the time, he opted to remain in the regional capital with his wife in order to document how life was changing in Crimea under the new Russia-installed authorities.
More than ever in his 50-year career, Semena said recently, he saw the urgency of working as an independent journalist in Crimea.
To carry out that work, he became a contributor to RFE/RL's Krym.Realii (Crimea Realities) website, which was set up after Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and now operates out of RFE/RL's Kyiv bureau.
Meanwhile, Crimea-based media outlets were taken over by the Russian state or by pro-Russia managers.
Journalists who didn't fall into line would either be forced out of work or forced out of Crimea.
Semena didn't fall into line.
Now he faces a possible five-year prison sentence on charges of calling for "the violation of the territorial integrity of Russia."
Read the entire article here.
Here is today's map of the latest situation in the Donbas conflict zone, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry:
Things are getting restive in Kyiv, as this photo gallery from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service illustrates:
Ukrainian Oligarch's Offices And Russian Bank Attacked In Kyiv
Nationalists in Kyiv attacked the offices of Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov and a Russian bank on March 14. The crowd was protesting against trade with areas of Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed separatists, where Akhmetov has significant business interests. On March 15 the Ukrainian government announced it was suspending all cargo traffic with these areas. Activists have been blockading rail lines to prevent such traffic since January.
