Ukraine

(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is a 19 May 2004 IFJ media release: Journalists Challenge Ukraine Prime Minister Over Gongadze and “Catalogue of Concerns” Facing Press The IFJ today confronted Ukraine Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych on a visit to Brussels with a “catalogue of concerns” over problems facing journalists and threats to press freedom that should […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called for an immediate and thorough investigation into the brutal attack on Dmitry Pozhydayev, webmaster of the online publication Crimean Linia. On 6 April 2004, Pozhydayev was attacked by skinheads, reportedly because of articles that were recently posted on the website. He suffered a concussion and head injuries and remains in […]

(IPI/IFEX) – The following is a 31 March 2004 IPI letter to President Leonid Kuchma: H.E. Leonid Kuchma President Office of the President Vul. Bankova 11 252005 Kiev Ukraine Fax: +380-44-293 10 01 / 293 73 64 / 291 61 61 Vienna, 31 March 2004 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In an 11 March 2004 letter to President Leonid Kuchma, CPJ expressed concern about recent closures of independent media outlets in Ukraine. The organisation believes the closures are part of a sweeping campaign to eliminate voices that are critical of the government and to block public access to independent sources of information in […]

(IPI/IFEX) – The following is a 9 March 2004 IPI letter to President Leonid Kuchma: H.E. Leonid Kuchma President Office of the President Vul. Bankova 11 252005 Kiev Ukraine Fax: +380 44 293 10 01 / 293 73 64 / 291 61 61 Vienna, 9 March 2004 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the […]

(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is an IFJ media release: IFJ Fears “Sinister Intent” As Car Crash Raises New Questions Over Suspicious Media Deaths in Ukraine The International Federation of Journalists has warned of “sinister intent” in the death in Ukraine under suspicious circumstances of Yuriy Chechyk, a media chief who was trying to assist American […]

(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is an IFJ media release: IFJ Warns Ukrainian Authorities Over “Relentless Pattern” of Repression Against the Voice of Dissent The International Federation of Journalists today condemned the “relentless pattern of repression” by Ukrainian government leaders, following the closure of another independent station in Kiev. Yesterday, the Ukrainian State Center of Radio […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF, along with several journalists’ unions and press freedom organisations, has repeated a call to Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Vassiliev Gennady to grant civil society groups a supervisory role in a new expert examination of the “Melnichenko tapes”. The tapes, which were apparently recorded in the office of President Leonid Kutchma by former police officer […]

(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is an IFJ media release: Ukraine Ban on Radio Liberty “Smacks of Old-style Political Interference” The International Federation of Journalists today warned that the decision to axe Ukrainian language broadcasts by Radio Liberty, the United States-funded international communications service, “smacks of old-style political interference” in the run-up to national elections this […]

(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 9 February 2004 RSF statement: Gongadze case: Open letter to the prosecutor-general RSF has joined with several other journalists’ union and press freedom organisations to urge the prosecutor general of Ukraine to allow civil society monitoring of a new expert examination of the “Melnichenko tapes”. These recordings, which were […]

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – In a letter to Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, ARTICLE 19 expressed its concern at the news of the circumstances surrounding the alleged unfair treatment of journalist Volodymyr Boyko and the weekly “Ostrov”, and the possible involvement of Ukrainian General Prosecutor Gennadij Vasylyev. According to ARTICLE 19’s information, in November 2003, when Vasylyev […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Oleg Eltsov, editor-in-chief of the online newspaper “Ukraina Kryminalna”, was the victim of a shooting attack on 12 January 2004, at about 10:00 p.m. (local time). One or two unidentified assailants fired rubber bullets at him, close to his Kiev home, before fleeing in a car. Eltsov was shot in the leg and […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF and the Institute for Mass Media (IMI), a Ukrainian press freedom organisation, have called for a full investigation into the death of Volodymyr Karachevtsev, deputy editor-in-chief of the weekly “Kurier”. Karachevtsev’s body was found in his Melitopol home on 14 December 2003. Karachevtsev, who was also a correspondent for the online newspaper […]

(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI letter to President Leonid Kuchma: H.E. Leonid Kuchma President Office of the President Vul. Bankova 11 252005 Kiev Ukraine Fax: +44 293 10 01/ 293 73 64 / 291 61 61 Vienna, 17 December 2003 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 18 November 2003, Parliament gave first reading to a draft law on computer domain use. The text, which leaves wide scope for interpretation, gives the authorities new judicial means to censor online publications. It follows other measures undertaken by the Ukrainian authorities to establish their control of the Internet. RSF has called […]

(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is a 17 November 2003 IFJ media release: IFJ Announces Launch of Independent Inquiry into Murder of Ukraine Reporter Gongadze The International Federation of Journalists today announced the official launch of an independent inquiry, “Working Against Impunity – A Review of the Gongadze Case”, into the three-year legal and judicial stalemate […]