Elections 18.06.13  The Commission reiterates previously expressed concern that the role of parliament must not be undermined. It states that "the most problematic provisions in the law under examination concern the possibility to hold referendums on popular initiative on a new Constitution or constitutional amendments." Political persecutions in modern Ukraine 18.06.13  Five US Senators have co-authored a resolution calling for the release of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko following the recent European Court of Human Rights judgment. Politics and human rights 17.06.13  Serhiy Vlasenko, fomer MP and defender of Yulia Tymoshenko, controversially stripped of his mandate in March, may again be facing criminal charges, with the impetus supposedly having come from his former wife, Natalya Okunska Freedom of expression  Only 20% of the political news on TVi in May was presented from several points of view, as opposed to 44% in April, with an unprecedented reduction in balance on TVi, up till 23 April seen as the most independent TV channel in Ukraine The right to health care 14.06.13  KHPG is calling for urgent measures to ensure that a detainee receive medical treatment and that the court considers a different preventive measure. Freedom of peaceful assembly 14.06.13  Despite the progressive nature of the provisions in Article 39 of Ukraine’s Constitution, implementation of freedom of peaceful assembly remains unsatisfactory in Ukraine Children’s rights New research has been published on prevention of torture and ill-treatment of children and adolescents in conflict with the law in Ukraine. Environmental rights  A serious case of chemical poisoning has taken place in Krasnopolye, Dnipropetrovsk oblast, and once again it is environmentalists who are forced to sound the alarm. Freedom of peaceful assembly 13.06.13  The Partnership “For Freedom of Peaceful Assembly” points out that information provided by the Deputy Interior Minister regarding a ban on wearing masks in the draft bill on freedom of peaceful assembly is not correct. It also rejects any such ban as being an infringement on people’s rights Freedom of peaceful assembly 13.06.13  They propose making it illegal not only to carry weapons during street protests, but to wear masks or hoods to hide ones face. Most ominously they want to make the organizers of a protest, as well those directly responsible for infringements of public order liable Law enforcement agencies 13.06.13  Donetsk analysts and human rights workers concur in their view that the police are not coping with their law-defending function and are to blame for their bad image The right to a fair trial  With Ukraine’s judges largely cowered or enticed into line, an offensive has been underway for the past 8 months against the country’s advocates. The weapons deployed are increasingly reminiscent of Orwell’s 1984, and appear to be targeting all vestiges of freedom of speech and independence of views. Freedom of expression 12.06.13  On 11 June a team of well-known journalists announced the creation of Hromadskie.TV, a public broadcasting Internet initiative based on the principles of transparency and total independence Freedom of expression 12.06.13  The assailants demanded that Georgy Erman chant some nationalist slogans while they videoed it, and threatened him for having, as they claimed, insulted nationalists in his articles News from the CIS countries  On Tuesday within hours of each other, the State Duma’s lower house of Parliament passed bills to criminalize blasphemy and outlaw activism by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals and their supporters. The right to a fair trial  Terrorist bombs are always aimed at showing the public that nobody is safe from attack. The case of Dmitry Reva is in danger of showing Ukrainians how easy it is to end up in prison as a result. Freedom of expression, Politics and human rights 11.06.13  Students and public sector workers complain that they are being forced to take part in political meetings. This, according to the Committee of Voters of Ukraine [CVU] can only be considered use of administrative resource Access to information  The Mayors and Deputy Mayors of Kharkiv, Kherson and Sumy are refusing to scan their declarations into digital form which effectively restricts people’s access to important public information The right to a fair trial 10.06.13  On 27 May the European Court of Human Rights rejected Ukraine’s appeal against the judgment issued in the case of Volkov v. Ukraine. Ukraine must reinstate Volkov to his position as Supreme Court judge Against torture and ill-treatment 10.06.13  Response to judgments finding violation of specific rights continues to be confined to paying compensation awarded and instructions, etc, of a general and vague nature
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Halya Coynash
 There are a lot of questions unanswered regarding the trial of four men over bomb blasts just before Euro 2012, however the case of Dmitry Reva is extraordinary even by Ukrainian standards. There is no motive, no proof and the impugned offence involves behaviour which would have been manifestly pointless
Halya Coynash
 Unlike administrative resource, thugs and cynical "antifascist" rhetoric, imagination was in short supply at the 18 May “antifascist demonstration” in Kyiv. While VO Svoboda ideological consistency does not make its bigoted views any more palatable, the Party of the Regions was still stupendously uncovincing
Halya Coynash
 President Yanukovych has said that no pardon can be granted until all criminal proceedings in the Tymoshenko cases have been concluded with this once again fuelling doubts about the competence of his advisers, both political and legal
 Despite no evidence aside from multiple “confessions” retracted in court and grave irregularities, two sacristans of the Svyatopokrovsk Orthodox Church in Zaporizhya, and brother of one of them, have been convicted of the 2010 bomb blast in the Church and sentenced to 15 and 14 years respectively
 Attempts to prosecute former opposition parliamentary candidate, Viktor Romanyuk, who was the clear leader until Party of the Regions candidate Zasukha got results in some polling precincts cancelled make any assurances given at the summit seem depressingly empty
Yevhen Zakharov
 The introduction of named railway tickets and the gathering of information about passengers’ movements infringe the right to privacy. Nobody has informed passengers of such a database, and has not asked for their consent to having data about their travels inserted and retained
Halya Coynash
 First Deputy Prosecutor General, Renat Kuzmin wants to criminalize “defamation”, which, unlike libel, can include true statements. At least within shooting range of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, this would silence all those unpleasant accusations of selective justice, judicial dependence etc
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