page_title: Municipal Guard (Odessa)
section_title: Attack on journalists
hierarchical_section_title: Municipal Guard (Odessa) / Scandals / Attack on journalists
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Стоп-кадр сделанный из моего видео с места где КП "Муниципальная охрана", действующая от имени городского совета Одессы, проводит демонтаж сооружений, избивая адвокатов и журналистов
context_page_description: "Municipal Guard" also known as the Public Formation for the Protection of Public Order is a municipal militia in Odessa established in 2015, originally under the name of the "Municipal Guard". The stated purpose of this agency the protection of property of the territorial community of Odessa and prevention of crime in the city. The agency is led by Kolchik Vladimir Vasilyevich. and is currently part of the Department of Public Safety established by the Odessa City Council on August 27, 2014.
  According to Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov, the enterprise received a first-level security license from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. By April 2017, the agency was reported to employ more than 100 people.
  In July 2018, Odessa City Councillor Olga Kvasnitsky reported that the agency employed approximately 300 people.
context_section_description: On July 13, 2018, members of the Municipal Guard attacked journalists who were filming the conflict between representatives of the Municipal Guard" and a law firm (Redut) in the parking lot. The reason of the conflict was the dismantling process of parking poles.
  Municipal Guard members used tear gas and rubber batons to attack journalists. As a result, two journalists from the Public Priboy newspaper, Vitaly Tkachenko and Miroslav Bekchiv, as well as the journalist of the "Unsolved Crimes" newspaper Konstantin Slobodyanyuk were injured. Bekchiv was hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury, burns on the face and signs of strangulation.
  Two employees of "The Municipal Guard" were given suspicion because of the attack on journalists, in relation to this incident the police initiated a criminal case under three articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: hooliganism, obstruction of the lawful professional activities of journalists, threat or violence against a journalist.
  On July 16, 2018, the prosecutor's office petitioned the Primorsky District Court to choose the measure of restraint for the offenders.
  On July 18, 2018 Primorsky District Court of Odessa appointed a house arrest for two employees of the Municipal Guard, who beat journalists. On October 9, 2018, the Odessa prosecutor's office sent indictments against two employees of the Municipal Guard.
  An attack on journalists was condemned by Professor Massimo Introvigne, the former OSCE representative against racism, xenophobia and discrimination. In his opinion, the brutality of the authorities in such a minor conflict looks rather strange and is probably only "a demonstration of primitive force and power".
  On September 4, 2019, members of the Municipal Guard did not admit journalists to a meeting of the Odessa City Council and tried to knock out a phone from a media employee.
caption: The employees of the municipal enterprise the "Municipal Guard" beat and use special means against the journalist
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