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13May16

Ukrainian website shut down after leaking personal data of journalists

Ukraine's website that earlier this week released information on more than 4,000 journalists from around the world accredited by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) has announced it is shutting down.

The website called Mirotvorets (Peacekeeper) said the move comes "taking into consideration the reaction that the publication of the list of journalists has caused." The closure has been also demanded by Ukraine's human rights commissioner Valeria Lutkovskaya, the EU and anti-Ukrainian journalists in the country, it said.

Ukrainian MP Anton Gerashchenko has confirmed the report on his Facebook page. He said a group of anonymous hackers, the patriots of Ukraine, has decided to close the Mirotvorets project after a criminal case was opened against its staff. This came upon a request of a group of Ukrainian and foreign journalists and amid the witch-hunt launched by some Ukrainian media outlets.

The journalists on the list published by the website on May 10 work for RT, TASS, BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, AP, newspapers and other mass media outlets. The information includes mobile phone numbers, e-mail addresses and dates of stay on the territory uncontrolled by Kiev. The portal accused the journalists of complicity to terrorist organizations.

The leak has caused enormous public outcry. The US Department of State reminded that the working conditions for journalists in the conflict zones are extreme. Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the publication as the abuse of declared freedoms in favor of political ambitions. OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic also expressed deep concerns over the leak.

[Source: Itar Tass, Kiev, 13May16]
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