Press release February 25, 2016
Ukraine Proposes Citizenship Test for Journalists
Ukraine's National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting announced it would propose a ban work by foreign citizens working in Ukrainian media.
Washington
In response to the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine announcing it would propose a ban on Russian citizens working in Ukrainian media, Freedom House issued the following statement:
“Restrictions on journalists and media outlets based solely on their citizenship or location are clear violations of press freedom and freedom of expression and should be rejected by the Ukrainian authorities” said Mark P. Lagon, president. “Media and journalists should never be prosecuted solely because of their citizenship or the opinions or perspectives they share, even if they are offensive.”
Background:
The director of the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine reported on February 25, 2016, that the agency would propose that the Verkhovna Rada ban work by foreign citizens in Ukrainian media and information companies.
The ban was proposed after comments made on February 21 by Maria Stolyarova, chief editor of the TV station Inter, dismissing the activists killed during the Euromaidan Revolution in and around Maidan Square in Kyiv in 2014. Stolyarova was deported from Ukraine on February 24.
Ukrainian authorities subsequently announced plans to audit the legal status of other Russian citizens working as journalists in Ukraine. Just days before, President Poroshenko established a Council on Protecting Journalists’ Professional Work and the Freedom of Speech.
Ukraine is rated Partly Free in Freedom in the World 2016, partly free in Freedom of the Press 2015, Partly Free in Freedom on the Net 2015, and receives a democracy score of 4.75 on a scale of 1 to 7, with 7 being the worst possible score, in Nations in Transit 2015.