Freedom of Speech in Ukraine

Constitutional norms and international treaties

According to article 34 of the Constitution of Ukraine ^[2] :

1. Everyone is guaranteed the right to freedom of thought and speech, to free expression of their views and beliefs.
2. Everyone has the right to freely collect, store, use and disseminate information orally, in writing or in any other way - at his own choice.
3. The exercise of these rights may be restricted by law in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public order in order to prevent unrest or crime, to protect public health, to protect the reputation or rights of others, to prevent the disclosure of information obtained in confidence, or to ensure the authority and impartiality of justice .

Ratified by Ukraine in 1997, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ^[3] provides for the right to freedom of expression (Article 10):

1. Everyone has the right to freely express their opinion. This right includes freedom to hold opinions and freedom to receive and disseminate information and ideas without any interference from public authorities and regardless of state borders. This article does not prevent States from licensing broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.
2. The exercise of these freedoms, imposing duties and responsibilities, may be subject to certain formalities, conditions, restrictions or sanctions that are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public order, in order to prevent unrest or crime, to protect health and morality, protecting the reputation or rights of others, preventing the disclosure of information obtained in confidence, or ensuring tions the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.

• 2013 - 126th place;
• 2014 - 127th place;
• 2015 - 129th place.
• 2016 is the 107th place.
• 2017 is the 102nd place ^[4] .

Statistics show that in recent years the number of Ukrainian journalists killed has increased dramatically ^[5] . In the two years since the beginning of Euromaidan, more than ten journalists have died in Ukraine ^[6] . For the first half of 2016, 23 attacks on journalists were recorded ^[7] . German journalist and director, director of the film “Frontline Donetsk. Non-grata Republic ”Mark Bartalmay called post-Euro-Maidan Ukraine the most dangerous country for journalists ^[8] . After discussing the involvement of Poroshenko in the Panamanian scandal with offshore on Shuster’s talk show , he accused the president of Ukraine of acting like “Stalin with offshore” Savik Shuster was removed from the air ^[9] . On August 3, 2016, the Deputy Minister of Information Policy of Ukraine Tatyana Popova, in protest against the position of the country's leadership, which does not respond to attacks on journalists by politicians, resigned ^[10] .

On August 30, 2017, Russian journalist Anna Kurbatova, who worked on Channel 1 , was abducted by SBU officers in the center of Kiev and taken to an unknown destination ^[11] . The next day she was deported to Moscow ^[12] with a ban on visiting Ukraine for three years, and the reason for deportation according to the Ekho Moskvy channel was the use of the term “ civil war ” in relation to hostilities in eastern Ukraine ^[13] . In light of this event, representatives of the international organization Committee to Protect Journalists ( Committee to Protect Journalists ) condemned this step by the Ukrainian authorities and urged them not to impede the professional activities of Anna Kurbatova and other media workers working in Ukraine ^{[14] [15]} . In addition, according to the Reuters news agency, this event caused a negative reaction among the OSCE functionaries who are monitoring the conflict in eastern Ukraine ^[16] .

The 20th report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Ukraine (para. 13) expresses concern about the criminal prosecution of independent Ukrainian media activists, journalists and bloggers. A very broad interpretation and arbitrary use by the Security Service of the Security Service of Ukraine of the provisions of the anti-terrorism legislation makes us ascertain the fact that the situation with freedom of speech and expression in Ukraine remains far from ideal ^{[17] [18]} .

2018

In January 2018, the editor-in-chief of Strana.ua Igor Guzhva requested political asylum in Austria due to pressure from the Ukrainian authorities.

On March 17, 2018, the SBU from Ukraine was sent by the journalist of the Russia 24 channel, Natalya Goncharova. She is charged with “destructive activity” and “preparation of anti-Ukrainian videos”. According to the Ukrainian side, her reports “distorted the situation in Ukraine, misinformed the international community and damaged the international image of Ukraine” ^[19] .

On June 8, 2018, the European Federation of Journalists condemned "the growing verbal violence, including on the Internet, against journalists in Ukraine." The statement also notes that the staging of the murder of journalist Arkady Babchenko “seriously affects the credibility of journalists,” since “public opinion is deliberately misled by the propaganda operation,” and also stated full support for Ukrainian colleagues from the agency of the National Union of Journalists in connection with statements First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Irina Gerashchenko , called in the EJF “verbal attack”, allegedly aiding the representatives of the union “Kremlin propaganda” ^{[20] [21]}

In 2015, a package of laws was passed that criminalized individuals who openly express communist views and deny “crimes of a communist totalitarian regime”.

On May 10, 2017, the Ukrainian branch of the international human rights organization Amnesty International criticized the detention of "peaceful demonstrators for the non-violent use of Soviet symbols." "The ban on symbols associated with the Communist Party and the Soviet past (the laws on" decommunization "adopted in May 2015) violates the right to freedom of expression, and the detention of peaceful demonstrators is a step in restricting freedom of speech and peaceful assembly by the Ukrainian authorities," said Oksana Pokalchuk, Director of Amnesty International in Ukraine ^[22] .

In May 2017, a Lviv student received a suspended sentence for social media posts devoted to Lenin and socialist slogans ^[23] .

On May 16, 2017 in Ukraine, by decree of the president, social networks Vkontakte , Odnoklassniki , Mail.ru and Yandex services, the KinoPoisk website, as well as antivirus products from Kaspersky Lab and Dr.Web were banned ^[24] . This decision of Petro Poroshenko was assessed by the International Human Rights Organization Human Rights Watch as “a terrible blow to freedom of speech in Ukraine” ^{[25] [26]} . “This is a form of censorship that contradicts the principles of freedom of expression and freedom of the press,” said Philippe Lerut, president of the International Federation of Journalists ^[27] .

Opinions of independent experts

According to Jemma Perzgen, a member of the board of the human rights organization Reporters Without Borders, “in 2016, Ukrainian television is an arena of information war and a showdown between competing oligarchs, and journalists are in their puppets.” According to Perzgen, the war in the Donbass and large-scale Russian propaganda have a significant impact on the media space of Ukraine, which, she said, "has led to the indisputable counter-government measures in Kiev." Among such measures, she refers to Ukrainian laws prohibiting the retransmission of 15 Russian television channels and the demonstration of many television shows and films made in Russia, as well as a ban on entry for a large number of foreign journalists, not only Russian but also German ^[28] .

In 2016, the International Human Rights Organization Human Rights Watch expressed concern about the creation of a Ministry of Information Policy in Ukraine. Among other government measures restricting freedom of speech and the media, the human rights organization named a ban on a number of Russian films and books by Russian authors, as well as a ban on entry into the country for a number of singers, actors, journalists and bloggers, also mostly Russian ^[29] .

Opinions of Journalists, the Council of Europe and the State Department

Journalist Leshchenko believes that Inter's arson is an attack on freedom of speech in Ukraine ^[30] . The Council of Europe (CE) and the US State Department condemned the radical attack on the Ukrainian television station Inter, urging Kiev to intervene in this situation ^[31] . The State Department will allocate $ 450 thousand to promote freedom of speech in Ukraine ^[32] .

Kotsaba, Ruslan Petrovich