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Council of Europe Analyzes Journalists’ Rights in Ukraine

July 21 – Council of Europe (COE) representatives analyzed Ukraine’s compliance with the COE’s media freedom standards as well as Ukrainian journalists’ professional rights under Ukraine’s criminal code at the request of the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information Policy.

The analysis was conducted as part of the Strengthening Media Freedom and Creating a Public Broadcasting System in Ukraine project, with COE support.

On July 18 and 19, the COE’s Darien Pavli and Ukrainian observer Oleksandra Yanovska (expert of Tomorrow’s Lawyer professional development program for lawyers in Ukraine, funded by the Government of Canada) met with civil society organizations working in the media field and law enforcement, and judicial and state representatives, to better understand Ukraine’s legal challenges in protecting journalists’ rights.

As part of that meeting, Institute for Mass Information (IMI) executive director Oksana Romaniuk and media lawyer Roman Holovenko discussed draft amendments to the criminal code from IMI lawyers protecting journalists and their work. The discussion’s emphasis was on official impunity for violations of media members’ legal rights.

More on the website of the IMI in Ukrainian.