(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter addressed to Justice Minister Susan Stanik, RSF protested the heavy fine imposed on the independent regional daily “Express”. RSF has spoken out against the use of the press law to impose prohibitive fines and fears that this measure could provoke the closure of the newspaper. Finally, the organisation gave its […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter addressed to Justice Minister Susan Stanik, RSF protested the heavy fine imposed on the independent regional daily “Express”. RSF has spoken out against the use of the press law to impose prohibitive fines and fears that this measure could provoke the closure of the newspaper. Finally, the organisation gave its full support to the action taken by journalists to protest the attacks on press freedom in Ukraine.
According to the information obtained by RSF, on 31 March 2000, the daily “Express” of Lviv (in western Ukraine) was ordered to pay a sum of 150,000 hrivnas (approx. US$27,740, 30,000 euros) in damages and interest, following a complaint lodged by a musician. In an article published in 1997, the newspaper accused him of plagiarism. The musician judged that the “Express” had “attacked his honour.”
Following the imposition of this fine, on 13 April, “Express” journalists circulated a petition that gained the support of some fifty Ukrainian media outlets and 19,000 signatures. On 19 April, ten members of the newspaper’s editorial staff began a hunger strike to protest the attacks on press freedom in Ukraine.
In 1999, the total sum of damages and interest demanded following legal proceedings instituted against independent and opposition media surpassed 90 billion hrivanas (approx. US$16.6 billion, 14.7 billion euros). This represents three times the annual budget of Ukraine.
