02.09.10
The Kharkiv law enforcement bodies are putting pressure on activists from “Zeleny Front” [Green Front] and the civic group “Prorvyomsya!”, detaining activists handing out leaflets and other unlawful measures
The Ministry of Internal Affairs considers it expedient to introduce a curfew for minors at legislative level
The Movement ‘Stop Censorship” believes that the Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeal may have been subjected to external pressure over its cancellation of the results of the TV broadcasting frequency tender
Andriy Mahera believes that some of the provisions of the law, for example, regarding the election of half of the makeup of district and regional councils according to a proportional system, may be appealed in the Constitutional Court
Reporters Without Borders has published the report of the fact-finding visit it made to Ukraine from 19 to 21 July. Entitled “Temptation to control,” it looks at the marked increase in press freedom violations since Viktor Yanukovych’s election as president in February
Committee of Voters of Ukraine experts believe that the new highly subjective procedure for formation of electoral commissions can place in question the equality of electoral rights of all participants during the local elections of 31 October 2010
According to the Head of the National Expert Commission for the Protection of Public Morality , Vasyl Kostytsky, administrative and civil-legal sanctions for violations of the Law on the Protection of Public Morality are not presently defined by the law. The Commission agreed that they were needed
The mobile operator Intertelecom has stated that the Security Service [SBU] demanded that it install an automated system for intercepting information from communication channels
Police detained dozens of protesters attempting to rally late Tuesday on Victory Square, including rally leaders, but did not exert additional force despite a warning from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that the protesters deserved to be beaten
The Verkhovna Rada on 30 August made amendments to the law on the local elections. The Committee of Voters of Ukraine approves of the amendments but calls them merely “changes for appearance to please the West”.
Petro Matvienko, Deputy Chief Editor of the weekly "Novy Styl" has described the investigation into Vasyl Klymentyev’s disappearance a farce and believes investigators are not interested in finding him
According to Donetsk human rights campaigner, Maria Oliynyk, in the Donetsk region they have begun cutting classes where tuition is in Ukrainian and moving senior school students into a national minority school with Russian as the language of tuition
The Editor of the Zhytomyr district newspaper “Silske Zhyttya” [“Rural Life”], Valery Ivamovsky is in hospital under police guard after receiving knife wounds in an assault on 27 August
31.08.10 | Associated Press
Germany’s chancellor is urging Ukraine’s president to strengthen media freedoms in his country.
They assert that the authorities are trying to make them choose between full subordination or closure of the channel
30.08.10 | Halya Coynash
An overview of press and freedom of speech concerns, especially diminishing objectivity and fullness of information on television (sent to the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Rapporteur on Ukraine, and many other EU, PACE officials and NGOs)
The Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeal has upheld the cancellation of the results of the January National TV and Radio Broadcasting Council tender for free frequencies and declared the licences of Channel 5 and TVi invalid
30.08.10
The restriction preventing parties not registered more than a year before the elections from taking part has been removed
While there is a dramatic difference between the best and worst figures regarding likely commissioned news items, the problem of subjects (or aspects of them) being avoided is common for all television channels.
According to a decision passed last year, on 31 October Kharkiv will not elect deputies to district councils, but only representatives to the city and regional councils. There are predictions that this will reduce voters’ ability to defend their rights
