She points out that Potebenko, when Prosecutor General, ignored Georgy Gongadze’s official statement that he was being followed, and did nothing to achieve an effective investigation into the murder

Hanne Severinsen noted that over the last few years the Ukrainian media had been half a year away from public broadcasting. Various branches of power had promised to do everything to promote its creation, but no further progress had been made

The Commission of Journalist Ethics deems the actions of the Kharkiv City Council press service in revoking a journalist’s accreditation to be an act of persecution for criticism and obstruction of journalists’ professional activities, and believes that the officials involved have exceeded the powers vested in them

A disagreement today between Crimean journalists and the press service of Moscow’s Mayor Yury Luzhkov over what questions could or couldn’t be asked reminded many journalists of a style they have (thankfully) become unaccustomed to

At a City Council meeting today, 21 February, Kharkiv’s Mayor Mykailo Dobkin expressed his views about the work of journalists and those publications in the media which, in his opinion, are not objective in the way they cover his activities

This unequivocal step by the city authorities has received considerable attention from journalists. It creates a dangerous precedent in restricting the rights of journalists, their freedom to carry out their professional activities and their freedom of speech.

Kharkiv journalists express their indignation over the recent withdrawal of accreditation of one of their colleagues for what the Kharkiv City Council has decided was “unverified information and a slanted approach”

The Kharkiv City Council has revoked the accreditation for journalist from “Komersant – Ukraina” Maria Spalek. The reason given is that the journalist “has been persistently misinforming people in Ukraine about the reform of housing and communal services in Kharkiv”.

The draft law proposes that when submitting documents to receive or extend broadcasting licenses to the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council, information will have to be provided about the founders, co-founders, owners and joint owners of the media outlet.

As a result of the political battle after the parliamentary elections of 2006, signs have become more noticeable of a return to repressive tactics in the attitude to the mass media.

This is the verdict given in the 2006 Reporters without Borders report: “The greater press freedom achieved in 2005 was reduced by physical attacks on journalists and failure to complete the trial of the killers of journalist Georgy Gongadze”

The author alleges that the Mayor prevented him from discussing issues of public importance during Council sessions

Gongadze’s mother, Lesya Gongadze, said today that the President’s failure to keep the promises given to the European Parliament in 2005 showed one thing only. “I think that he simply can’t do it.The Prosecutor General has passed the case to a new investigator, Mr Kharchenko who has to start from the beginning ..."

In an interview with UNIAN, the Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis has said that the CE’s greatest disappointment is over the lack of real progress in solving the murder of Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze.

The prominent Russian journalist believes that the level of journalism in Ukraine is unequivocally higher than in Russia. He says that at present Russian journalism, in particular that on television, is deteriorating, and turning into propaganda

The Verkhovna Rada Press Service has issued a statement in which it claims that phrases comparing Ukrainian and Russian television news broadcasts were taken out of context and wrongly interpreted in the media

Ukrainian journalists believe that their work is professional and see no need to emulate Russian news reports which they consider to be produced under conditions of censorship

The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Moroz believes that Ukraine lacks balanced information state policy aimed at ensuring that the media presents the real state of affairs in the country. He cites Russia as an example to be emulated ....

The Public Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information has called on the Verkhovna Rada to reject the proposal from Party of the Regions State Deputy Hanna Herman that the media be obliged to publish the public addresses of the country’s leaders

The newspaper’s Chief Editor links this to the events of 27 December when the latest issue carrying an article about a criminal investigation against the City Mayor Ivan Kupichenko was withdrawn from sale in all Ukrainian Postal Service kiosks