Yevgen Nikiforov

Affiliated media: Freelance photographer

Incident date: March 17, 2021

Attack type:

• Court trial

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Bird in flight

Location: Ukraine, Odesa Oblast, Odesa

Additional information:

Freelance photographer Yevgen Nikiforov and his brother were filming the project about experimental villages in Odesa oblast. Two drunk men came to him during the filming, hit Nikiforov and threatened to take away his filming equipment and the car. One of the men forced his way into the car and held the door, but Nikiforov managed to drive away. Before that, the attacker and his friend tried to take away the photographers' drone and camera and said that brothers «will not leave [alive]». Nikiforov was soon detained by a local policeman who said that he had violated traffic regulations and that the person who attacked him earlier died due to an accident. Criminal proceedings were initiated against the journalist under Article 286, part 2. On 17 March, the court ordered him to be placed under night house arrest for 60 days.