Abkhazia officials: deported Ukrainian journalists working without accreditation

The filming crew of the Ukrainian TV Channel "1+1", composed of the journalist Natalka Pisnya and the cameraman Sergey Kiselyov, who were deported at night on March 13 from Abkhazia, had worked in the republic without accreditation, said today the State Security Service (SSS) of Abkhazia.

According to the SSS, on March 12, two more Ukrainian journalists - employees of the TV and Radio Company "Ukraine", namely the journalist Alyona Shevchuk and the cameraman Vyacheslav Filyushkin, who came to Abkhazia on March 9 - were offered to leave the republic.

According to the SSS of Abkhazia, on March 11, residents of Sukhumi complained that journalists "were filming old ruined buildings, interviewing residents, asking provocative questions, launch discussions, in which they defend the position of radicals of the Kiev Maidan, and criticized Russian President Putin and Russian mass media." After that, the journalists were invited to the SSS for a talk.

On March 14, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine expressed concern about the detention of Ukrainian journalists in Abkhazia. According to Evgeny Perebiynis, the Director of the Department for Information Policy of the MFA, the journalists were actually captured and subjected to psychological pressure and threats.