This is mentioned in the court ruling dated October 15, and it was also reported by the journalist herself.
Thus, the Kyiv Court of Appeals upheld the verdict of the Kyiv-Sviatoshyn District Court. In particular, the court agreed that there is no conclusive evidence in the case that the accused was aware that his actions were specifically directed against the journalist and intentionally obstructed her legitimate professional activities.
“The presence of a microphone with the victim and a camera does not indicate that this person belongs to the category of journalists,” states the ruling.
At the same time, the appellate arguments presented by the prosecutor and the representative of the victim are deemed “unconvincing.”
Meanwhile, Kutuzova emphasized that during the incident, the law enforcement officer did not allow her to introduce herself: “He simply lunged at me and ripped the camera from my hands.”
She claims that she repeatedly stated that she was a journalist and possessed a valid identification. This can be heard in the video she released in October 2020.
However, Kutuzova noted that the court refuses to view this video.
Additionally, according to her, the witness for the defendant is the person who “verbally attacked” her first. In court, the man claimed that the journalist allegedly did not introduce herself and did not mention that her identification was in the TIK building.
“I am disappointed in the justice system and I am ashamed of it. There remains one last hope — the cassation. If that fails, we will appeal to the European Court,” emphasized Kutuzova.
The Office of the Prosecutor General informed the publication “Ґрати” that the prosecution will also file a cassation appeal.
The publication notes that the defendant Roman Mykytenko serves as the deputy head of the Bucha District Police Department.
On October 7, 2020, in the village of Hатне, Kyiv region, law enforcement officers attacked Taisia Kutuzova. The journalist was filming a session of the local electoral commission where they were discussing the cancellation of registration for one of the candidates in the village council elections.
According to local residents, two buses with “titushky” arrived to support the candidate for the local council, along with police patrols. The filming displeased the law enforcement officers, who began to pressure Kutuzova to turn off her camera.
Ultimately, three officers started to twist her arms and forcibly took the camera from Taisia and activist Tatyana.
As Taisia noted, the law enforcement officers did not show their service IDs despite requests from the journalists. However, later another man in uniform approached to “apologize for his colleagues' actions.” Subsequently, the police announced the suspicion of obstructing journalistic activities (Part 3 of Article 173 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) against one of the officers involved in the conflict.
At that time, the journalist was filming the documentary “Shut Your Mouth!” about activist Serhiy Chahorov, who has been fighting corruption in his native village since the age of 16. He defends his right to freedom of speech and exposes the machinations of local officials.