Journalists said about cenorship in Ukraine at World editors forum

On September, 3, in Zhovtnevyi Palace, during the President’s speech at the opening of World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum, journalists of Stop Censorship! initiated protest against violation of freedom of speech in Ukraine. During the speech of Victor Yanukovych editors and prominent journalists raised posters with the messages saying about the problems in Media, namely, no punishment of journalist Gongadze’s murderers; assaults of journalists and tapping their phones; no reaction of authorities to journalist’s investigations; closure of TVi Channel etc.

 

Before the event, President’s guards tried to block journalists’ entering the hall by searching their personal belongings, when they noticed folded posters and Claims of Stop Censorship! movement. When journalists finally managed to get into Congress Hall, the guards all the time have been recording some journalists in front of all Diplomatic Missions. During the President’s speech, when journalists unfolded the posters and began silent protest, the guards rudely grabbed the posters from several journalists, in particular, Olena Prytula, an editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda, and Kateryna Gorchynska, an editor of Kyiv Post.

 

The President himself didn’t react anyhow to the protest and spoke about achievements in freedom of speech in Ukraine.