2 November 2016: activists hold rally near the Russian Embassy in Kyiv, demanding to close criminal cases against Ukrainian journalists. Source: Human Rights Information Center, Ukraine.
The author, a Crimean journalist, has requested that we publish this article anonymously.
In March 2014, after the referendum on Crimea’s “unification” with Russia that was not recognised beyond the latter’s borders, Ukrainian legislation was gradually squeezed out by Russian law. The official transition period was supposed to end on 1 January 2015, but there were exceptions in some areas. Free registration for Crimea’s media companies by Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor was, for example, extended to 1 April of that year. Crimean media could effectively continue to function up until then, but many found their access to government bodies already closed and officials refusing to talk to them.
