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Ukrainian Website Leaks More Personal Details About Journalists


A Ukrainian nationalist website has published an e-mail archive that contains copies of identification cards and personal information about Ukrainian and international journalists.

The new leak, which allegedly comes from a disenchanted separatist official, was published on August 4.

It contains thousands of e-mails -- including some e-mails that contain photographs and copies of journalists' travel identification.

On August 3, Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, praised the website, Myrotvorets, saying it has become an electronic mass-media resource.

Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Information Policy Tetyana Popova, who spoke strongly against the website, announced her resignation on August 3 to protest what she said were attacks on journalists and freedom of speech.

The Myrotvorets online project had raised concerns about the safety of journalists in May when it leaked names and contact information for thousands of correspondents who have reported from parts of Ukraine that are controlled by Russia-backed separatists.

The website claimed it was targeting enemies of Ukraine -- “because these journalists collaborate with fighters from terrorist organizations.”

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko condemned the May leak, but Myrotvorets was never closed.

Based on reporting by AP, Kyiv Post, and RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service


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