It could be said that adopting the Draft Law 3014 in such a state is impossible, and the need for it is doubtful in principle, given that the communications market successfully regulates itself.

The European Court of Human Rights has found that Ukraine violated the rights of five Ukrainians who were dismissed from their posts under the Government Cleansing (Lustration) Law because of their official posts under Yanukovych, or, in one case, in the Communist Party before 1991

The farcical nature of Ukraine’s new Law on Cleaning up the Government was seen within hours of the law coming into force. The list made public of the first 36 heads to roll was like a modern public execution – of suspected witches rather than of known criminals.

Anatoly Boiko, head of the Odessa Regional Branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine [CVU] has warned that Odessa is “on the threshold of terror” following the leaking of personal data about people who have spoken out in support of Ukraine’s unity.

The creation of this Register will result in wide-scale infringement of people’s right to privacy and the NGOs believe it likely that the European Court of Human Rights will find that it violates Ukrainians’ rights

On Oct 9 at “Life under X-Ray: How to prevent the Unified State Demographic Register" civic activists will be considering one of the most dangerous laws passed over the last three years and there has been stiff competition.

A police state is one which treats its own citizens as potential criminals. Ukraine has recently been taking on more and more features of such a state

The Interior Ministry has so far secretly initiated a draft law which would oblige providers to set up their own investigative operation systems for monitoring users and pay for it all themselves

Two opposition MPs have dropped a legislative clanger by proposing criminal liability for unlawful visual surveillance of an individual in a public place

President Yanukovych has made many eyebrow-raising appointments over the last three years. Considering the stiff competition, this may not be the worst, but with respect to corruption it is perhaps in a league of its own

In yet another development which is at once worrying and grotesquely silly, the Chernivtsi Regional Police have announced that they have begun criminal proceedings over interference in police work against Arseny Yatsenyuk and Hennady Moskal.

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

Opposition politicians and journalists are increasingly being bugged having their email addresses hacked. The victims are convinced that this is intimidation on the order of those in high places

Taras Zozulinsky, investigative journalist for the newspaper Express is convinced that the bug is because of his journalist investigations and asks journalists to give maximum attention to the criminal investigation

The website Nashi Hroshi [Our Money] which monitors how the authorities spend taxpayers’ money reports another scandalous aspect of a law already condemned by human rights organizations

“Ukraine fatigue” is palpable in the wake of the parliamentary elections, however two more dangerous laws just signed into force make it clear that turning away cannot be an option

The President’s “veto” of the “biometric law” proved as make-believe as the exercise in the Verkhovna Rada on Tuesday in which the ruling majority obediently passed all amendments leaving the causes for grave concern untouched

The President has formally used his power of veto with respect to the Law on a Unified State Demographic Register Unfortunately neither the circumstances of the veto nor the scant details available give any grounds for confidence

The President’s decision regarding a dangerous law creating enormous scope for State invasion of privacy, abuse and a huge financial burden on individual Ukrainians is now overdue and anxiously awaited

It considers the Law on a United State Demographic Register to run counter to Ukraine’s Constitution, international norms and standards regarding protection of privacy, as well as the obligations Ukraine has taken on before the European community