Annual report of the situation of the freedom of speech and media freedom in Ukraine, October 2012, by Maya Zakhovaiko

OBSTRUCTIONS, LEGAL HARASSMENT AND THREAT OF OPPRESSIVE LEGISLATION

As the elections in Ukraine draw closer there has been a sharp increase in the number of violations of journalists' rights and lawsuits against the media and individual journalists.

This can be clearly seen in a monthly survey conducted by Ukraine’s Institute of Mass Information (www.imi.org.ua)

The data for the first three months of 2012 shows that there were 6 cases of obstruction of journalists conducting their professional duties in January. In February the number rose to 15, there were 6 cases in March and the number reached 16 in April. These included assaults and intimidation of journalists. For example two directors of television stations in Kharkov were intimidated: Olena Barannik from TVK and Iryna Rubashko from “Fora” TV. Both these cases were publicized in the press. The best known case was the cruel murder of Rostislav Shaposhnikov, a co founder of “Ground Control” an online publication.

By August the number of cases had risen to 39. The most common examples of obstruction included impeding journalists in the conduct of their professional duties and censorship. On 3 September this year security guards confiscated posters being held by Olena Prytula, from the “Ukrainian Truth” and Catherine Gorchynsky, from the “Kyiv Post” newspaper. The two women journalists were holding up the posters during a speech by President Viktor Janukovych at the World Newspaper Congress in Kyiv. The posters said “stop censorship’ in Rusian and English.

In another incident in September journalists, who did not have passports, were refused entry to a press conference given by Victor Yushchenko, the former president. In Lutsk a representative of the “Our Ukraine” party headed by Yushchenko told journalists’ “this is an election campaign and we will decide who will attend and who will not”.

The increasing frequency of lawsuits against individual journalists and media organizations completed the drive to limit freedom of speech before the elections. During the 10 week campaign parliamentary candidates filed 18 lawsuits against the media. The plaintiffs asked for retractions and high compensation for moral damages (www.imi.org.ua)

Ukraine has reverted to a confrontational situation between the press and the authorities. Journalists’ rights are very often violated by police and officials. These are the conclusions of the Institute of Mass Information which monitored such cases as reported in the annual Timeline of Freedom of Speech (www.imi.org.ua).

Experts have noted a sharp deterioration of the media freedom situation over the last two years.

There are many cases of restrictions of access by journalists to the authorities, including the ministers, and refusals to accredit them at state institutions. There are also cases of pressure being put on journalists by editors and media owners to influence what they write.

Journalists are afraid of losing their jobs and are becoming increasingly afraid to inform about such political and economic pressure. Those, who openly talk about this and have joined the movement Stop Censorship!, can now only work either in the internet media or TVi or Channel 5.

The consequence of such a deterioration of the freedom of speech is a sharp fall in the quality of media content. According to experts at Telecritika, an internet journal (www.telekritika.ua) the TV news no longer shows protests, the actions of the opposition, nor do they report on inflation and the deterioration of living standards.

Another important fact is that the Supreme Council (Verkhovna Rada) of Ukraine debated a draft law on the 18th of September 2012. This sought to establish criminal liability for defamation. Over 244 MPs voted for this law. Libel will be fined from 500 to 5000 times the minimum taxable income (from 8.5 thousand to 85 thousand UAH), correctional labor or arrest from 3 to 8 months. Were the published information to lead to a serious deterioration of health the prison term would have been from 3 to 5 years. There were many protests by journalists’ organisations

The independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine claimed that Parliament had taken another step on the road of destruction of freedom of speech, and thus democracy in Ukraine. So the Union protested against the first reading of a bill which would have allowed the imprisonment of journalists or, indeed, any citizen for public slander and spreading false information.

Such a provision in the legislation fails to meet international standards and violates the 10th article of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which guarantees the right to freedom of expression and thought.

“Round tables” were organized and a special Facebook group was set up. The Ukrainian media were sure - were this draft bill to have been adopted it would have marked a major retrograde step back for our country. The draft law was withdrawn on October 2 under media and social pressure. There is no certainty, however, that the draft will not be reintroduced at the Verkhovna Rada once the elections are over.