06.11.2010

The 31 October Elections did not meet international standards

At a press conference on Friday the civic organizations which monitored the October 31 Local Elections gave their overall – and very negative - assessment. Olha Aivazovska, Head of the Civic Network OPORA said that the 2010 local elections could not be considered honest, transparent and democratic. She stressed that OPORA’s conclusions were based on the results of short- and long-term monitoring and that they applied the criteria set out in documents from the Venice Commission, the Copenhagen Conference and the OSCE.

25.10.2010

Kharkiv Prosecutor confirms printing of 12.7 thousand extra ballot papers

At the printing press Folio Plant, officers from the Kharkiv Prosecutor’s Office have uncovered 12.7 thousand undeclared ballot papers for the local elections in the Kharkiv region. This was reported by National Deputy Volodymyr Filenko. He reports that there are around 720 thousand ballot papers at the printing press, but that they had also found a great pile (12,700 in total) lying separately with the label reading “s/run”. When they asked, they were told that this stood for papers printed over the print run number.

23.10.2010

For the Prosecutor Dementiy Bily was assaulted but isn’t a journalist

The Prosecutor’s Office has initiated a criminal investigation over the assault on Dementiy Bily, Editor of the newspaper “Vilny Vybir” [“Free Choice”] and Head of the Kherson Regional Branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, yet is refusing to consider him a journalist.

22.10.2010

Classifying Zabily’s case as secret restricts his right to defence

Volodymyr Yavorsky, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, considers that making historian Zabily’s case “top secret” is an attempt to restrict his right to defence and to avoid public scrutiny.

21.10.2010

Yanukovych’s Party of the Regions against law promised to Europe

The Verkhovna Rada has deferred consideration of the Law on Access to Public Information under 2 November this year. This decision was voted for by 251 National Deputies.

19.10.2010

What were the police looking for in Deputy Editor’s flat?

The Kharkiv police on Friday searched the flat of the Deputy Editor of the newspaper “Novy Styl” [“New Style”, Petro Matviyenko. According to Mr Matviyenko, computer technology was removed with the drafts of articles as well as private correspondence. He believes that this is revenge by the police because he is trying to raise public and media attention to the disappearance of his colleague, Vasyl Klymentyev in August this year. The investigators are presently not commenting.

17.10.2010

Police remove financial documents and computers from Vinnytsa Human Rights Group

During a search officially of the home of Vinnytsa Human Rights Group coordinator, Dmytro Groisman, carried out on Friday, lasting until 2 a.m. that night, the police removed two leaflets from a German anti-AIDS foundation, promoting safe sex, and a video to check it for possible pornography.

15.10.2010

Oleksiy Verentsov declares hunger strike, persecution of human rights group continues

14.10.2010

Police detain four on Kyiv’s Independence Square

The Ministry of Internal Affairs Press Office informs that “four members of a left-wing political group” were detained on Maidan Nezalezhnosti [Independence Square] in Kyiv.

14.10.2010

Governor does not exclude pressure on Kharkiv teachers

The Head of the Kharkiv Regional Administration, Mykhailo Dobkin does not exclude the possibility of cases where teachers were forced to join the Party of the Regions under threat of dismissal.

13.10.2010

OSCE media freedom representative: Ukraine should take swift and resolute measures to entrench its exemplary record in media pluralism

Ukraine has achieved a great level of media freedom but it must take urgent steps to safeguard it, Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, said today.

13.10.2010

’Ukrainska Pravda sues Yanukovych

The Internet publication 'Ukrainska Pravda has filed a civil suit against President Yanukovych with the High Administrative Court over the President’s refusal to reveal which joint stock company he is founder of. Ukrainska Pravda will be represented in court by Roman Holovenko from the Institute for Mass Information.

13.10.2010

CVU: On the results of long-term monitoring of the 31 October Local Elections

The Committee of Voters of Ukraine [CVU] has issued a brief statement on the results of the first month of the election campaign.

06.10.2010

CVU Danger that leading mayoral candidates will be removed from the lists

The Committee of Voters of Ukraine [CVU] believes that one of the serious risks of the present election campaign for the local elections is of widespread removal of the most popular mayoral candidates from the running the night before the elections.

06.10.2010

Constitutional Court revokes 2004 Changes to the Constitution

The Constitutional Court [CCU] has found unconstitutional the Law on Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine from 8 December 2004 No. 2222-IV citing violations in procedure for its examination and adoption.

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