A bill on granting veteran status to SVO military correspondents has been sent to the Cabinet of Ministers
MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. The bill, which proposes to grant veteran status to journalists who work in the special military operation zone and in the counter-terrorist operation zone, has been sent to the government for recall. This was reported on his Telegram channel by the head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Alexander Khinshtein.
"The draft law prepared by me together with the Union of Journalists of Russia and the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia has been sent to the government to receive an official opinion. According to our plan, the corresponding veteran status will be granted to journalists and media employees working (worked) in the SVO zone, combat zones, armed conflicts, in counter-terrorist operation zones, in territories where martial law has been introduced," Khinshtein wrote.
He added that the bill is proposed to be extended to employees of the media of the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. "It will also affect journalists who worked in the territory of other states that were in a state of emergency or armed conflict (for example, in Afghanistan). Journalists who have received veteran status will have all the same rights and benefits as veterans of military operations," the deputy emphasized.
Earlier, the head of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, Valery Fadeyev, stated that the issue of granting special status to war correspondents working in combat zones is under consideration, and a decision could be made as early as 2024.